The spirit of a person is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the innermost parts of his being.
Parallel translations
- WEB The spirit of man is Yahweh’s lamp, searching all his innermost parts.
- KJV The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
- BSB The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching out his inmost being.
- NKJV The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
- NLT The Lord’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.
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
The human spirit is the Lord's lamp, searching one's inmost being. It matters because God uses our conscience to illuminate and examine the heart.
Overview
God has placed within humanity a capacity — often understood as conscience or the inner spirit — by which he searches and exposes the deepest parts of a person. Nothing within us is hidden from him (Psalm 139:23; 1 Corinthians 2:11). This both convicts of sin and calls us to walk in the light, for God examines the heart.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Cor 2:11For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God, except God’s Spirit.
- Heb 4:12–13For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
- Job 32:8But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
- 1 Jn 3:19–21And by this we know that we are of the truth, and persuade our hearts before him,
- Gen 2:7Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
- Rom 2:15in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience testifying with them, and their thoughts among themselves accusing or else excusing them)
- 2 Cor 4:2–6But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
- Prov 20:30Wounding blows cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the innermost parts.
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 20:27 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.