Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.
Parallel translations
- WEB A false balance is an abomination to Yahweh, but accurate weights are his delight.
- KJV A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
- NKJV Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight is His delight.
- NASB A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight is His delight.
- NLT The Lord detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God hates dishonest scales but delights in fair weights. Integrity in business and commerce matters deeply to the Lord.
Overview
In an economy of weights and measures, a rigged balance was a common way to cheat, and God names it an 'abomination.' The proverb shows that everyday honesty is a matter of worship, not merely ethics. The God who delights in just dealings is the same God who is perfectly faithful and calls His people to reflect His truthfulness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Deut 25:13–16You shall not have two differing weights in your bag, one heavy and one light.
- Prov 16:11Honest scales and balances are from the LORD; all the weights in the bag are His concern.
- Prov 20:23Unequal weights are detestable to the LORD, and dishonest scales are no good.
- Lev 19:35–36You must not use dishonest measures of length, weight, or volume.
- Prov 20:10Differing weights and unequal measures—both are detestable to the LORD.
- Hos 12:7A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands.
- Amos 8:5–6asking, “When will the New Moon be over, that we may sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, that we may market wheat? Let us reduce the ephah and increase the shekel; let us cheat with dishonest scales.
- Ezek 45:10–12You must use honest scales, a just ephah, and a just bath.
- Mic 6:10–11Can I forget any longer, O house of the wicked, the treasures of wickedness and the short ephah, which is accursed?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 11:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.