New Living Translation
Proverbs 20:9
9Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from 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 King James Version (NKJV)Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin”?
Context of Proverbs 20:9
7The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them. 8When a king sits in judgment, he weighs all the evidence, distinguishing the bad from the good. Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin”? 10False weights and unequal measures— the Lord detests double standards of every kind. 11Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is 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“If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?—you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to their land far away or near.
- 2 Chronicles 6:36“If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?—you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to a foreign land far away or near.
- Job 14:4Who can bring purity out of an impure person? No one!
- Job 15:14Can any mortal be pure? Can anyone born of a woman be just?
- Job 25:4How can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone born of a woman be pure?
- Psalms 51:5For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
- Ecclesiastes 7:20Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.
- 1 Corinthians 4:4My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.
- James 3:2Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
- 1 John 1:8If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.
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
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