Proverbs 16
The full text of Proverbs 16 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 The plans of the heart belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes,
but the LORD weighs the spirit.
3 Commit your work to the LORD,
and your plans will be established.
4 The LORD has made everything for its purpose,
even the wicked for the day of trouble.
5 Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD;
be assured, he will not go unpunished.
6 By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.
7 When a man's ways please the LORD,
he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
8 Better is a little with righteousness
than great revenues with injustice.
9 The heart of man plans his way,
but the LORD establishes his steps.
10 A divine oracle is on the lips of a king;
his mouth does not sin in judgment.
11 A just balance and scales are the LORD's;
all the weights in the bag are his work.
12 It is an abomination to kings to do evil,
for a throne is established by righteousness.
13 Righteous lips are the delight of a king,
and he loves the one who speaks uprightly.
14 A king's wrath is a messenger of death,
and a wise man will appease it.
15 In the light of a king's face there is life,
and his favor is like the cloud of spring rain.
16 How much better to get wisdom than gold!
To get understanding is to be chosen above silver.
17 The highway of the upright turns aside from evil;
whoever guards his way preserves his life.
18 Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
19 It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor
than to divide the spoil with the proud.
20 Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good,
and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
21 The wise of heart is called discerning,
and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
22 Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it,
but the instruction of fools is folly.
23 The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious
and adds persuasiveness to his lips.
24 Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and healing to the bones.
25 There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way of death.
26 A laborer's appetite works for him;
his hunger drives him on.
27 A worthless man digs up evil,
and his speech is like a scorching fire.
28 A twisted man sows strife,
and a whisperer separates close friends.
29 A violent man entices his neighbor
and leads him in a way that is not good.
30 He who winks his eyes plans perverse things;
he who purses his lips brings evil to pass.
31 Gray hair is a crown of glory;
it is gained in a righteous life.
32 Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
and whoever rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
33 The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the LORD.
Translation notes (7)
- Proverbs 16:1a Hebrew ma'arkhei-lev, 'arrangements of the heart', derives from a verb used for setting things in ordered rows, as of an army or a sacrifice; the phrase pictures deliberate mental preparation. Its counterpart ma'aneh lashon, literally 'answer of the tongue', names the actual utterance, so the proverb contrasts what a person orders inwardly with the spoken outcome the LORD supplies.
- Proverbs 16:4a Hebrew lama'anehu derives from ma'aneh, 'answer' or 'purpose', and its pronominal suffix may refer either to the thing made or to the LORD, the latter yielding 'for himself', the reading of the King James tradition. The rendering here takes each thing as made to answer its own end, a sense confirmed by the parallel line, which matches the wicked to the day of trouble.
- Proverbs 16:10a Qesem, 'divination', elsewhere condemned as a pagan practice (Deuteronomy 18:10), is here rendered as 'divine oracle' in a rare positive sense: the king's verdict carries an authority as decisive as an oracle. The proverb reflects the ancient Near Eastern conviction that royal judgment was divinely guided, and it obliges the king to judge without sin.
- Proverbs 16:15a The Hebrew malqosh (מַלְקוֹשׁ), 'spring rain', denotes the late rains of March and April that ripen the grain before harvest, making them decisive for the year's crop. Royal favor is thus pictured as both life-giving and seasonal, arriving at the moment of greatest need.
- Proverbs 16:25a This proverb repeats Proverbs 14:12 word for word, one of several exact doublets in the collection. In Hebrew the final phrase is plural, darkhei-mavet, literally 'ways of death', while acharit, 'end', denotes the final outcome of a course rather than its terminus alone.
- Proverbs 16:31a Hebrew sevah, 'gray hair', stands for old age itself, which in ancient Israel carried public honor (compare Leviticus 19:32, which commands rising before the gray-headed). The second line, literally 'in the way of righteousness it is found', reflects the conviction that long life is the fruit of righteous conduct, a theme running through Proverbs (3:1-2; 4:10).
- Proverbs 16:33a Lots were small stones or sticks shaken in the fold of a garment (cheiq, 'lap' or 'bosom') and thrown out to decide disputed matters, as in the division of the land in Joshua 18 and the choice of Matthias in Acts 1:26. Hebrew mishpat, here 'decision', is elsewhere the ordinary word for a judicial verdict, underscoring that the outcome carries authority because it comes from the LORD, not from chance.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Hebrew and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of Proverbs, is free to read here on the web.
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