English Standard Version
Proverbs 16:2
2All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.
Proverbs 16:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.
- New International Version (NIV)All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.
- New King James Version (NKJV)All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the spirits.
- New Living Translation (NLT)People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.
Context of Proverbs 16:2
1The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. 3Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. 4The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.
Read all of Proverbs 16Proverbs 16:2 word by word
כָּֽל־דַּרְכֵי־אִ֭ישׁ זַ֣ךְ בְּעֵינָ֑יו וְתֹכֵ֖ן רוּח֣וֹת יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 16:2
- Proverbs 16:25There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
- Proverbs 21:2Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.
- Proverbs 30:12There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth.
- 1 Samuel 15:13And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord."
- Psalms 36:2For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
- Jeremiah 2:22Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me, declares the Lord God.
- Luke 18:9He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:
- Romans 7:7What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet."
- Proverbs 5:21For a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths.
- Proverbs 24:12If you say, "Behold, we did not know this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?
- 1 Samuel 16:7But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."
- Isaiah 26:7The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous.
- Jeremiah 17:10"I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."
- Daniel 5:27Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting;
- Luke 16:15And he said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
- Revelation 2:18"And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: 'The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
Commentaries on Proverbs 16:2
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2We are blind to our own faults, do not see ourselves as others see us. There is One who tries not the “ways” only, but the “spirits” Hebrews 4:12: this is the true remedy against self-deceit.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 2Verse 2 Ignorance, pride, and self-flattery render us partial judges respecting our own conduct.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2God's judgment of right and wrong is what matters (see Genesis 8:21; 1 Samuel 13:14; 16:6–7; Luke 16:15). This saying is almost the same in Proverbs 21:2.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. clean--or, "faultless." weigheth--or, "tries," "judges," implying that they are faulty (Pr 21:2; 24:12).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 16:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries