All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed out by the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but Yahweh weighs the motives.
- KJV All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
- NKJV All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the spirits.
- NASB All the ways of a person are clean in his own sight, But the Lord examines the motives.
- NLT People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.
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
People justify their own conduct, but God examines their true motives. It matters because self-perception is unreliable; only the Lord rightly judges the heart.
Overview
The proverb exposes our tendency toward self-justification, seeing our ways as clean while God weighs the inner spirit. We are prone to deceive ourselves about our motives. This drives us to humility and to the gospel, since only God's verdict counts and only in Christ are sinners truly cleansed (Jeremiah 17:9-10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Prov 21:2All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.
- 1 Sam 16:7But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”
- Luke 16:15So He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized among men is detestable before God.
- Prov 30:12There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth.
- Jer 17:10I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
- Prov 24:12If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,” does not He who weighs hearts consider it? Does not the One who guards your life know? Will He not repay a man according to his deeds?
- Ps 36:2For his eyes are too full of conceit to detect or hate his own sin.
- Prov 16:25There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
- Prov 5:21For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
- Luke 18:9–11To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable:
- Jer 2:22–23Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD.
- Dan 5:27TEKEL means that you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.
- Rev 2:23Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
- 1 Sam 15:13–14When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
- Rom 7:7–9What then shall we say? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have been mindful of sin if not for the law. For I would not have been aware of coveting if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”
- Isa 26:7The path of the righteous is level; You clear a straight path for the upright.
- Rev 2:18To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like a blazing fire and whose feet are like polished bronze.
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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 16:2 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
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