Even a child is known by his deeds, Whether what he does is pure and right.
Parallel translations
- WEB Even a child makes himself known by his doings, whether his work is pure, and whether it is right.
- KJV Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
- BSB Even a young man is known by his actions—whether his conduct is pure and upright.
- NASB It is by his deeds that a boy distinguishes himself, If his conduct is pure and right.
- NLT Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right.
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
Even children reveal their character through their conduct. It matters because actions, not mere words, show whether one is truly upright.
Overview
From an early age, a person's deeds disclose the inner heart — whether it is pure and right. The proverb both warns parents to watch the early signs and reminds all that we are known by our works. It echoes Jesus' teaching that a tree is known by its fruit (Matthew 7:16-20), even as the heart's purity ultimately depends on God's grace.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Matt 7:16By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?
- Luke 6:43–44For there is no good tree that produces rotten fruit; nor again a rotten tree that produces good fruit.
- Prov 21:8The way of the guilty is devious, but the conduct of the innocent is upright.
- Luke 2:46–47After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the middle of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions.
- Ps 51:5Behold, I was born in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me.
- Luke 1:15For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
- Ps 58:3The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
- Luke 1:66All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” The hand of the Lord was with him.
- Prov 22:15Folly is bound up in the heart of a child: the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
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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 20:11 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.