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21 For the ways of a person[a] are in front of the Lord’s eyes,
and the Lord[b] weighs[c] all that person’s[d] paths.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 5:21 tn Heb “man.”
  2. Proverbs 5:21 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  3. Proverbs 5:21 tn BDB 814 s.v. פָּלַס 2 suggests that the participle מְפַּלֵּס (mepalles) means “to make level [or, straight].” As one’s ways are in front of the eyes of the Lord, they become straight or right. It could be translated “weighs” since it is a denominative from the noun for “balance, scale”; the Lord weighs or examines the actions.
  4. Proverbs 5:21 tn Heb “all his”; the referent (the person mentioned in the first half of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

21 For human ways are under the eyes of the Lord,
    and he examines all their paths.(A)

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The eyes of the Lord[a] are in every place,
keeping watch on[b] those who are evil and those who are good.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:3 sn The proverb uses anthropomorphic language to describe God’s exacting and evaluating knowledge of all people.
  2. Proverbs 15:3 tn The form צֹפוֹת (tsofot, “watching”) is a feminine plural participle agreeing with “eyes.” God’s watching eyes comfort good people but convict evil.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
    keeping watch on the evil and the good.(A)

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11 Death and Destruction[a] are before the Lord
how much more[b] the hearts of humans![c]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:11 tn Heb “Sheol and Abaddon” (שְׁאוֹל וַאֲבַדּוֹן (sheʾol vaʾavaddon); so ASV, NASB, NRSV; cf. KJV “Hell and destruction”; NAB “the nether world and the abyss.” These terms represent the remote underworld and all the mighty powers that reside there (e.g., Prov 27:20; Job 26:6; Ps 139:8; Amos 9:2; Rev 9:11). The Lord knows everything about this remote region.
  2. Proverbs 15:11 tn The construction אַף כִּי (ʾaf ki, “how much more!”) introduces an argument from the lesser to the greater: If all this is open before the Lord, how much more so human hearts. “Hearts” here is a metonymy of subject, meaning the motives and thoughts (cf. NCV “the thoughts of the living”).
  3. Proverbs 15:11 tn Heb “the hearts of the sons of man,” although here “sons of man” simply means “men” or “human beings.”

11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord;
    how much more human hearts!(A)

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All a person’s ways[a] seem right[b] in his own opinion,[c]
but the Lord evaluates[d] the motives.[e]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 16:2 tn Heb “ways of a man.”
  2. Proverbs 16:2 sn The Hebrew term translated “right” (זַךְ, zakh) means “pure, clear, clean” (cf. KJV, NASB “clean;” NIV “innocent;” ESV, NKJV, NLT, NRSV “pure.” It is used in the Bible for pure (uncontaminated) oils or undiluted liquids. Here it means uncontaminated actions and motives. It address how people naively conclude or rationalize that their actions are fine.
  3. Proverbs 16:2 tn Heb “in his eyes.” Physical sight is used figuratively for insight, or one’s intellectual point of view.
  4. Proverbs 16:2 tn The figure (a hypocatastasis) of “weighing” signifies “evaluation” (e.g., Exod 5:8; 1 Sam 2:3; 16:7; Prov 21:2; 24:12). There may be an allusion to the Egyptian belief of weighing the heart after death to determine righteousness. But in Hebrew thought it is an ongoing evaluation as well, not merely an evaluation after death.
  5. Proverbs 16:2 tn Heb “spirits” (so KJV, ASV). This is a metonymy for the motives, the intentions of the heart (e.g., 21:2 and 24:2). sn Humans deceive themselves rather easily and so appear righteous in their own eyes, but the proverb says that God evaluates motives and so he alone can determine if the person’s ways are innocent.

All one’s ways may be pure in one’s own eyes,
    but the Lord weighs the spirit.(A)

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The crucible[a] is for refining[b] silver and the furnace[c] is for gold,
likewise[d] the Lord tests[e] hearts.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:3 sn The noun מַצְרֵף (matsref) means “a place or instrument for refining” (cf. ASV, NASB “the refining pot”). The related verb, which means “to melt, refine, smelt,” is used in scripture literally for refining and figuratively for the Lord’s purifying and cleansing and testing people.
  2. Proverbs 17:3 tn The term “refining” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
  3. Proverbs 17:3 sn The term כּוּר (kur) describes a “furnace” or “smelting pot.” It can be used figuratively for the beneficial side of affliction (Isa 48:10).
  4. Proverbs 17:3 tn Heb “and.” Most English versions treat this as an adversative (“but”).
  5. Proverbs 17:3 sn The participle בֹּחֵן (bokhen, “tests”) in this emblematic parallelism takes on the connotations of the crucible and the furnace. When the Lord “tests” human hearts, the test, whatever form it takes, is designed to improve the value of the one being tested. Evil and folly will be removed when such testing takes place.

The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold,
    but the Lord tests the heart.(A)

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27 The human spirit[a] is like[b] the lamp[c] of the Lord,
searching all his innermost parts.[d]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:27 sn The expression translated “the human spirit” is the Hebrew term נִשְׁמַת (nishmat), a feminine noun in construct. This is the inner spiritual part of human life that was breathed in at creation (Gen 2:7) and that constitutes humans as spiritual beings with moral, intellectual, and spiritual capacities.
  2. Proverbs 20:27 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
  3. Proverbs 20:27 tn The “lamp” is the metaphor in the line; it signifies that the human spirit functions as a conscience, enabling people to know and please God, and directing them in choices that will be life-giving. E. Loewenstamm unnecessarily reads נִיר (nir, “to plow”) instead of נֵר (ner, “lamp”) to say that God plows and examines the soul (“Remarks on Proverbs 17:12 and 20:27, ” VT 37 [1967]: 233). The NIV supplies a verb (“searches”) from the second half of the verse, changing the emphasis somewhat.
  4. Proverbs 20:27 tn Heb “all the chambers of the belly.” This means “the inner parts of the body” (BDB 293 s.v. חֶדֶר); cf. NASB “the innermost parts of his being.”

27 The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord,
    searching every inmost part.(A)

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All a person’s ways seem right in his own opinion,[a]
but the Lord evaluates[b] his thoughts.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:2 tn Heb “in his own eyes.” The term “eyes” is a metonymy for estimation, opinion, evaluation. Physical sight is used figuratively for one’s point of view intellectually.
  2. Proverbs 21:2 tn Heb “weighs” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “examines”; NCV, TEV “judges.” Weighing on scales is an act of examining and verifying weight for market purposes (2 Kgs 12:11) but can be used metaphorically for evaluating other things (e.g. the Lord weighs actions in (1 Sam 2:3).
  3. Proverbs 21:2 tn Heb “the minds.” The term לֵב (lev, “mind, heart”) is used as a metonymy of association for thoughts and motives (BDB 660-61 s.v. 6-7). sn It is easy to rationalize one’s point of view and deceive even oneself. But the Lord evaluates our thinking and motives as well (cf. Prov 16:2).

All deeds are right in the sight of the doer,
    but the Lord weighs the heart.(A)

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