New Living Translation
Proverbs 20:27
27The Lord’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.
Proverbs 20:27 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
- New International Version (NIV)The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord that sheds light on one’s inmost being.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
Context of Proverbs 20:27
25Don’t trap yourself by making a rash promise to God and only later counting the cost. 26A wise king scatters the wicked like wheat, then runs his threshing wheel over them. The Lord’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive. 28Unfailing love and faithfulness protect the king; his throne is made secure through love. 29The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old.
Read all of Proverbs 20Proverbs 20:27 word by word
נֵ֣ר יְ֭הוָה נִשְׁמַ֣ת אָדָ֑ם חֹ֝פֵ֗שׂ כָּל־חַדְרֵי־בָֽטֶן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 20:27
- Genesis 2:7Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.
- Job 32:8But there is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent.
- Romans 2:15They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.
- 1 Corinthians 2:11No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.
- 2 Corinthians 4:2We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.
- 1 John 3:19Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.
- Proverbs 20:20If you insult your father or mother, your light will be snuffed out in total darkness.
- Proverbs 20:30Physical punishment cleanses away evil; such discipline purifies the heart.
- Hebrews 4:12For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
Commentaries on Proverbs 20:27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord - God has given to every man a mind, which he so enlightens by his own Spirit, that the man knows how to distinguish good from evil; and conscience, which springs from this, searches the inmost recesses of the soul.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27The spirit of man - The “breath” of Genesis 2:7, the higher life, above that which he has in common with lower animals, coming to him direct from God. Such a life, with all its powers of insight, consciousness, reflection, is as a lamp which God has lighted, throwing its rays into the darkest recesses of the heart. A still higher truth is proclaimed in the Prologue of John‘s Gospel. The candle, or lamp of Yahweh, derives its light from “the Light that…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 27Verse 27 The rational soul and conscience are as a lamp within us, which should be used in examining our dispositions and motives with the revealed will of God.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 27The Lord's light reaches the human spirit, and God sees deep into people's hearts (see Proverbs 16:2).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2727. The spirit ... Lord--Men's minds are God's gifts, and thus able to search one another (compare Pr 20:5; Pr 18:8, 17; 1Co 2:11).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 20:27
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
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