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There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth.
Proverbs 30:12 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes, yet are not washed from their filthiness.
  • KJV There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
  • NKJV There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness.
  • NASB There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, Yet is not washed from his filthiness.
  • NLT They are pure in their own eyes, but they are filthy and unwashed.

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

There is a generation that thinks itself pure yet remains unwashed from its filth.

Overview

This type is marked by self-deceived self-righteousness, congratulating itself while still defiled. The verse exposes the danger of measuring oneself by one's own standards rather than God's holy gaze. It underscores humanity's need for cleansing we cannot supply ourselves, a need met only in the washing and forgiveness found in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 25

  • Luke 18:11The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
  • Prov 16:2All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed out by the LORD.
  • 2 Tim 3:5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!
  • Jer 2:35you say, ‘I am innocent. Surely His anger will turn from me.’ Behold, I will judge you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
  • Titus 3:5He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
  • 1 Jn 1:7–10But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
  • Prov 21:2All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.
  • Isa 65:5They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
  • Ezek 36:25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
  • 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.
  • Ps 36:2For his eyes are too full of conceit to detect or hate his own sin.
  • 1 Cor 6:11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
  • Luke 11:39–40“Now then,” said the Lord, “you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
  • Isa 1:16Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
  • Zech 13:1“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
  • Ps 51:2Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
  • Titus 1:15–16To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
  • Ps 51:7Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
  • Jer 4:14Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?
  • Jer 2:22–24Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD.
  • Judg 17:5Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained one of his sons as his priest.
  • Judg 17:13Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”
  • Job 33:9‘I am pure, without transgression; I am clean, with no iniquity in me.
  • Rev 1:5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
  • 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.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Proverbs videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Proverbs 30:12YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ProverbsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 30:12 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.