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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Proverbs 16:2

Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - God Continued...;   Heart;   Self-Righteousness;   Thompson Chain Reference - Balances, Divine;   Divine;   Self-Justification-Self-Condemnation;   Self-Righteousness;   The Topic Concordance - Man;   Spirit/souls;   Ways;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Man;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Spirit;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Hannah;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;   Purity-Purification;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Self-Examination;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Clean;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Way;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
All a person’s ways seem right to him,but the Lord weighs motives.
Hebrew Names Version
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; But the LORD weighs the motives.
King James Version
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.
English Standard Version
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.
New American Standard Bible
All the ways of a person are clean in his own sight, But the LORD examines the motives.
New Century Version
You may believe you are doing right, but the Lord will judge your reasons.
Amplified Bible
All the ways of a man are clean and innocent in his own eyes [and he may see nothing wrong with his actions], But the LORD weighs and examines the motives and intents [of the heart and knows the truth].
World English Bible
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; But Yahweh weighs the motives.
Geneva Bible (1587)
All the wayes of a man are cleane in his owne eyes: but the Lord pondereth the spirits.
Legacy Standard Bible
All the ways of a man are pure in his own sight,But Yahweh weighs the motives.
Berean Standard Bible
All a man's ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed by the LORD.
Contemporary English Version
We may think we know what is right, but the Lord is the judge of our motives.
Complete Jewish Bible
All a man's ways are pure in his own view, but Adonai weighs the spirit.
Darby Translation
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but Jehovah weigheth the spirits.
Easy-to-Read Version
People think that whatever they do is right, but the Lord judges their reason for doing it.
George Lamsa Translation
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD directs his way.
Good News Translation
You may think everything you do is right, but the Lord judges your motives.
Lexham English Bible
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but Yahweh weighs the spirit.
Literal Translation
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but Jehovah weighs the spirits.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
A ma thinketh all his waies to be clene, but it is ye LORDE yt fashioneth ye myndes.
American Standard Version
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; But Jehovah weigheth the spirits.
Bible in Basic English
All a man's ways are clean to himself; but the Lord puts men's spirits into his scales.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
King James Version (1611)
All the wayes of a man are cleane in his owne eyes: but the Lord weigheth the spirits.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
A man thynketh all his wayes to be cleane: but it is the Lorde that iudgeth the myndes.
English Revised Version
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes: but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Alle the weies of men ben opyn to the iyen of God; the Lord is a weiere of spiritis.
Update Bible Version
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; But Yahweh weighs the spirits.
Webster's Bible Translation
All the ways of a man [are] clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
New English Translation
All a person's ways seem right in his own opinion, but the Lord evaluates the motives.
New King James Version
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits.
New Living Translation
People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.
New Life Bible
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the thoughts of the heart.
New Revised Standard
All one's ways may be pure in one's own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
All the ways of a man, may be pure in his own eyes, but, he that testeth spirits, is Yahweh.
Douay-Rheims Bible
All the ways of a man are open to his eyes: the Lord is the weigher of spirits.
Revised Standard Version
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit.
Young's Literal Translation
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, And Jehovah is pondering the spirits.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the LORD weighs the motives.

Contextual Overview

2 Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the ways: Proverbs 16:25, Proverbs 21:2, Proverbs 30:12, 1 Samuel 15:13, 1 Samuel 15:14, Psalms 36:2, Jeremiah 2:22, Jeremiah 2:23, Luke 18:9-11, Romans 7:7-9

but: Proverbs 5:21, Proverbs 24:12, 1 Samuel 16:7, Isaiah 26:7, Jeremiah 17:10, Daniel 5:27, Luke 16:15, Revelation 2:18, Revelation 2:23

Reciprocal: Judges 17:6 - right 1 Chronicles 29:17 - triest the heart Proverbs 12:15 - way Jeremiah 35:17 - because Luke 17:10 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 3:12
The Man said, "The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it." God said to the Woman, "What is this that you've done?"
Genesis 3:17
He told the Man: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree That I commanded you not to eat from, ‘Don't eat from this tree,' The very ground is cursed because of you; getting food from the ground Will be as painful as having babies is for your wife; you'll be working in pain all your life long. The ground will sprout thorns and weeds, you'll get your food the hard way, Planting and tilling and harvesting, sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk, Until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried; you started out as dirt, you'll end up dirt."
Genesis 16:1
Sarai, Abram's wife, hadn't yet produced a child. She had an Egyptian maid named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram, " God has not seen fit to let me have a child. Sleep with my maid. Maybe I can get a family from her." Abram agreed to do what Sarai said.
Genesis 16:6
"You decide," said Abram. "Your maid is your business." Sarai was abusive to Hagar and Hagar ran away.
Genesis 16:9
The angel of God said, "Go back to your mistress. Put up with her abuse." He continued, "I'm going to give you a big family, children past counting. From this pregnancy, you'll get a son: Name him Ishmael; for God heard you, God answered you. He'll be a bucking bronco of a man, a real fighter, fighting and being fought, Always stirring up trouble, always at odds with his family."
Genesis 18:10
One of them said, "I'm coming back about this time next year. When I arrive, your wife Sarah will have a son." Sarah was listening at the tent opening, just behind the man.
Genesis 25:21
Isaac prayed hard to God for his wife because she was barren. God answered his prayer and Rebekah became pregnant. But the children tumbled and kicked inside her so much that she said, "If this is the way it's going to be, why go on living?" She went to God to find out what was going on. God told her, Two nations are in your womb, two peoples butting heads while still in your body. One people will overpower the other, and the older will serve the younger.
Genesis 30:6
Rachel said, "God took my side and vindicated me. He listened to me and gave me a son." She named him Dan (Vindication). Rachel's maid Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. Rachel said, "I've been in an all-out fight with my sister—and I've won." So she named him Naphtali (Fight).
Genesis 30:22
And then God remembered Rachel. God listened to her and opened her womb. She became pregnant and had a son. She said, "God has taken away my humiliation." She named him Joseph (Add), praying, "May God add yet another son to me."
Ruth 4:11
All the people in the town square that day, backing up the elders, said, "Yes, we are witnesses. May God make this woman who is coming into your household like Rachel and Leah, the two women who built the family of Israel. May God make you a pillar in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem! With the children God gives you from this young woman, may your family rival the family of Perez, the son Tamar bore to Judah."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

All the ways of a man [are] clean in his own eyes,.... All right and well, not only some, but all, having a high opinion of himself; for this is to be understood of a self-righteous man, who is pure in his own eyes, though not cleansed from his filthiness, and so fancies every way he walks in, and everything he does, is pure; this is owing to want of knowledge of the impurity of his nature; was he sensible of this, he would see that his best righteousness is as filthy rags and to his ignorance of the spirituality of the law, which, was he acquainted with, he would find, on comparing himself with it, that he and all he did was polluted and unclean: some read the words, "all the ways of a pure man [are] before his eyes": the eyes of the Lord, he sees them, and approves of them; so Aben Ezra; and to this agrees the Septuagint version, "all the works of an humble man [are] manifest with God"; and the Arabic version, "all the works of an humble man are clean before God"; but the former reading and sense seem best;

but the Lord weigheth the spirits; searches and tries the hearts; he sees, knows, and observes the principles of all actions, and can as exactly adjust the nature and quality of them, as a man, with a pair of scales in his hands, can tell precisely the weight of anything put into them; the Lord weighs the spirits, or hearts, from whence all actions flow, by his omniscience, and accordingly judges of them by that, and not by the outward appearance; and he weighs all actions by his law, in the balance of the sanctuary, where they are found wanting, and come greatly short of that purity and perfection pharisaical persons imagine there is in them.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

We are blind to our own faults, do not see ourselves as others see us. There is One who tries not the “ways” only, but the “spirits” Hebrews 4:12 : this is the true remedy against self-deceit.


 
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