English Standard Version
Proverbs 20:9
9Who can say, "I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin"?
Proverbs 20:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?
- New International Version (NIV)Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin”?
- New Living Translation (NLT)Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin”?
Context of Proverbs 20:9
7The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him! 8A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes. Who can say, "I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin"? 10Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord. 11Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.
Read all of Proverbs 20Proverbs 20:9 word by word
מִֽי־יֹ֭אמַר זִכִּ֣יתִי לִבִּ֑י טָ֝הַ֗רְתִּי מֵחַטָּאתִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 20:9
- 1 Kings 8:46"If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near,
- 2 Chronicles 6:36"If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near,
- Job 14:4Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one.
- Job 15:14What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?
- Job 25:4How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure?
- Psalms 51:5Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
- Ecclesiastes 7:20Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
- 1 Corinthians 4:4For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.
- James 3:2For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
- 1 John 1:8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Commentaries on Proverbs 20:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Who can say, I have made any heart clean - No man. But thousands can testify that the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed them from all unrighteousness. And he is pure from his sin, who is justified freely through the redemption that is in Jesus.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9A warning voice against the spirit, which, ignorant of its own guilt, is forward to condemn others.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9Verse 9 Some can say, Through grace, we are cleaner than we have been; but it was the work of the Holy Spirit.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Wise people know their own weaknesses. Pride stops people from seeing their faults (Proverbs 6:17–18; 11:2; 13:10; 15:33; 16:18; 18:12; see also 1 John 1:8–10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. The interrogation in the affirmative strengthens the implied negation (compare Job 15:14; Ec 7:20).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 20:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 20
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries