Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.
Parallel translations
- WEB Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.
- BSB The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.
- NKJV Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, But a man of understanding will draw it out.
- NASB A plan in the heart of a person is like deep water, But a person of understanding draws it out.
- NLT Though good advice lies deep within the heart, a person with understanding will draw it out.
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
A person's deepest thoughts are like deep water, but the discerning can draw them out. Wisdom can reach what lies hidden in the heart.
Overview
This proverb compares the purposes hidden in a man's heart to deep water, hard to reach, yet says a person of understanding can draw them out. It commends the discernment that perceives and surfaces what is concealed, whether in counsel, friendship, or judgment. It reminds us that God alone fully searches the heart (Ps. 139), and the wise, in dependence on Him, seek to understand others rightly.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- 1 Cor 2:11For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
- Prov 18:4The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.
- Ps 64:6They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.
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 20:5 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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