New King James Version
Proverbs 20:9
9Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure 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”?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Who can say, "I have made my heart pure; I am clean 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 man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him. 8A king who sits on the throne of judgment Scatters all evil with his eyes. Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin”? 10Diverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the Lord. 11Even a child is known by his deeds, Whether what he does is pure and right.
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“When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to the land of the enemy, far or near;
- 2 Chronicles 6:36“When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to a land far or near;
- Job 14:4Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!
- Job 15:14“What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?
- Job 25:4How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman?
- Psalms 51:5Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
- Ecclesiastes 7:20For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.
- 1 Corinthians 4:4For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.
- James 3:2For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
- 1 John 1:8If we say that 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries