Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Proverbs 16:1

Clarke's Commentary

CHAPTER XVI

Man prepares, but God governs. God has made all things for

himself; he hates pride. The judgments of God. The

administration of kings; their justice, anger, and clemency.

God has made all in weight, measure, and due proportion.

Necessity produces industry. The patient man. The lot is under

the direction of the Lord.

NOTES ON CHAP. XVI

Verse Proverbs 16:1. The preparations of the heart in man — The Hebrew is לאדם מערכי לב leadam maarchey leb, which is, literally, "To man are the dispositions of the heart; but from the Lord is the answer of the tongue." Man proposes his wishes; but God answers as he thinks proper. The former is the free offspring of the heart of man; the latter, the free volition of God. Man may think as he pleases, and ask as he lists; but God will give, or not give, as he thinks proper. This I believe to be the meaning of this shamefully tortured passage, so often vexed by critics, their doubts, and indecisions. God help them! for they seldom have the faculty of making any subject plainer! The text does not say that the "preparations," rather dispositions or arrangements, מערכי maarchey, "of the heart," as well as "the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord;" though it is generally understood so; but it states that the dispositions or schemes of the heart (are) man's; but the answer of the tongue (is) the Lord's. And so the principal versions have understood it.

Hominis est animam preparare; et Domini gubernare linguam. - VULGATE. "It is the part of man to prepare his soul: it is the prerogative of the Lord to govern the tongue."

מן בר נש תרעיתא דלבא ומן יי ממללא דלישנא min bar nash taritha delibba; umin yeya mamlala delishana. - CHALDEE. "From the son of man is the counsel of the heart; and from the Lord is the word of the tongue."

The SYRIAC is the same. καρδια ανδρος λογζεσθω δικαια, Ἱνα ὑπο του θεου διορθωθῃ τα διαβηματα αυτῃ. - SEPTUAGINT. "The heart of man deviseth righteous things, that its goings may be directed by God."

The ARABIC takes great latitude: "All the works of an humble man are clean before the Lord; and the wicked shall perish in an evil day." Of a man is to maken redy the inwitt: and of the Lorde to governe the tunge. - Old MS. Bible.

"A man maye well purpose a thinge in his harte: but the answere of the tonge cometh of the Lorde. - COVERDALE.

MATTHEW'S Bible, 1549, and BECKE'S Bible of the same date, and CARDMARDEN'S of 1566, follow Coverdale. The Bible printed by R. Barker, at Cambridge, 4to., 1615, commonly called the Breeches Bible, reads the text thus: - "The preparations of the hart are in man; but the answere of the tongue is of the Lord." So that it appears that our first, and all our ancient versions, understood the text in the same way; and this, independently of critical torture, is the genuine meaning of the Hebrew text. That very valuable version published in Italian, at Geneva, fol. 1562, translates thus: Le dispositioni del cuore sono de l'huomo, ma la risposta del la lingua e dal Signore. "The dispositions of the heart are of man; but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord."

The modern European versions, as far as I have seen, are the same. And when the word dispositions, arrangements, schemes, is understood to be the proper meaning of the Hebrew term, as shown above, the sense is perfectly sound; for there may be a thousand schemes and arrangements made in the heart of man which he may earnestly wish God to bring to full effect, that are neither for his good nor God's glory; and therefore it is his interest that God has the answer in his own power. At the same time, there is no intimation here that man can prepare his own heart to wait upon, or pray unto the Lord; or that from the human heart any thing good can come, without Divine influence; but simply that he may have many schemes and projects which he may beg God to accomplish, that are not of God, but from himself. Hence our own proverb: "Man proposes, but God disposes." I have entered the more particularly into the consideration of this text, because some are very strenuous in the support of our vicious reading, from a supposition that the other defends the heterodox opinion of man's sufficiency to think any thing as of himself. But while they deserve due credit for their orthodox caution, they will see that no such imputation can fairly lie against the plain grammatical translation of the Hebrew text.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Laying plans and making decisions (16:1-33)

A person may make plans, but God is the one who determines their outcome. He knows the person’s unseen motives and controls events according to his purposes. It is important, therefore, always to bring God into one’s planning (16:1-4). God punishes the arrogant but has mercy on those who fear him (5-6). He protects them from harm and guides them on the right pathway (7-9).
When a king’s wisdom comes from God, his decisions will be right. He will show no partiality but will punish evil, commend good, and insist that all trading practices be fair and honest (10-15). The person who is truly rich is not the one who has money, but the one who is wise, upright, humble, obedient and faithful (16-20).
Pleasant speech is not hypocritical if it springs from a pure heart. It benefits the speakers for it gives their words persuasiveness, and it benefits the hearers for it improves their minds (21-24). People can readily deceive themselves, but they cannot escape the plain fact that if they do not work they will go hungry (25-26). In contrast to the pleasant speech just mentioned, abusive speech, whispering and sly scheming create only trouble (27-30). Living uprightly guarantees honour in old age; controlling one’s passions guarantees strength; referring matters to God guarantees right decisions (31-33).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“The plans of the heart belong to man; But the answer of the tongue is from Jehovah.”

“A man may think what he will say, but at the moment the word comes to him from the Eternal.”Moffatt’s translation. “People make their plans, but it is the Lord who makes those things happen.”The Easy-to-Read Version of the Bible (Fort Worth, Texas: World Bible Translation Center, 1992). “This proverb is identical in meaning with Proverbs 16:9, and with our saying that, `man proposes; God disposes.’“International Critical Commentary, Vol. 17, p. 320.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The proverbs in Proverbs 16:1-7 have, more than any other group, an especially religious character impressed upon them. The name of Yahweh as Giver, Guide, Ruler, or Judge, meets us in each of them.

Proverbs 16:1

Better, The plans of the heart belong to man, but the utterance of the tongue is from Yahweh. Thoughts come and go, as it were, spontaneously; but true, well ordered speech is the gift of God. Compare Proverbs 16:9.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Shall we turn now to Proverbs 16:1-33 , the sixteenth chapter and begin our study this evening.

The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD ( Proverbs 16:1 ).

God works in our lives even when we're not aware of it. If we're a child of God, God is continually working in our lives. It's amazing how many times we say things that we don't realize that at the time we are saying it, but actually it's a word from the Lord. It just comes up. God prepares your heart. The preparations of the heart, they're from God. In Philippians we read, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God that is working in you both to will and to do" ( Philippians 2:12-13 ). You see, God is planting now His law in the fleshly tablets of our heart, even as He promised to Jeremiah. "The day will come when I will no longer write my law on the tables of stone but in the fleshly tables of their heart." So God plants His Word, God plants His desires right in your heart, so the preparations of the heart are from the Lord. How great it is to be a child of God and to have your life submitted to the Lord so that the Lord is directing from that just inner kind of desires and all that He plants within your own heart.

Second proverb:

All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weighs the spirits ( Proverbs 16:2 ).

Now no matter what a guy does, it's right. "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes." You can justify everything you've done. We're so full of excuses. "I did it because... " Even if it's wrong, we got a good reason or at least a good excuse. Of course, Benjamin Franklin said the man who is good with excuses is seldom good for anything else. "The ways of a man are clean in his own eyes, but God weighs the spirits." Now God knows the motives. God knows why I did it, the motive behind it, and that's what's important.

Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established ( Proverbs 16:3 ).

So many times we're worried that we haven't done enough. And probably correct. However, when we look at our service to God, we so often say, "Oh, but, you know, I should have done such a better job. You know, I... " Could you have done a better job? "No. I did the best I could." Well, that's all God expects. God doesn't expect more from you than what you can actually produce. So you've got to commit your works unto the Lord. Do your best and then just commit the rest. And your thoughts will be established.

"Well, you know, Lord, that's the best I can do. Sorry You have to use this kind of instrument to do Your work, Lord, but that's the way it is and that's all I can do." And I don't go home and worry, "Oh, could I have done this? Could I have done that? Oh, I should have done this. I should have done that." You just do your best and then you just place the rest in His hands. Your thoughts are then established. You rest. "Well, Lord, here it is, such as it is the best I can do." And you just commit your work to the Lord and your thoughts then are established. Just resting. Best I could do. "God, you know, use it if you can. It's my best."

This is an interesting and yet a difficult proverb to understand.

The LORD has made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil ( Proverbs 16:4 ).

Now the word evil, of course, is a reference to the judgment that is coming. There is a scripture in Isaiah that has brought a lot of problems to people, where God has declared that He has created evil. And they say, "Oh, how could God create evil?" The word actually is judgments. God has created the judgments that come upon the evil. So, "The Lord has made all things for Himself." "Thou has created all things, and for thy good pleasure they are and were created" ( Revelation 4:11 ). And God has even created the evil or the wicked. Now God didn't create them wicked, but He created wicked people. Can you catch the difference?

God created people; some of them are wicked. They don't have to be, but they are. God created them. You can't deny the fact that God created them. So in a sense, you can say God created the wicked. He didn't create them wicked, but He created the wicked. They became wicked. God created them. And He has actually created also the judgments that shall come upon those wicked persons.

Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD ( Proverbs 16:5 ):

One of those, another one of those which God has a lot of things that are an abomination to Him. Again, you need to take your concordance and go through the book of Proverbs and go through this word abomination and find out how many things are an abomination unto God. Now, I don't know exactly what an abomination is, but it sounds bad. And I know I don't want to be one.

Now, "The proud in heart are an abomination to the Lord." Oh, that pride. What a destroyer it is. We'll get to that in a minute.

and though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished ( Proverbs 16:5 ).

This "hand in hand" again, the striking of the hand, making a deal, it's usually a... in this case, joining hand in hand for strength, yet you can't escape the punishment.

By mercy and truth iniquity is cleansed ( Proverbs 16:6 ):

God's mercy and God's truth. You remember John in the opening remarks concerning Jesus Christ said, "For the law came by Moses, but grace and truth by Jesus Christ" ( John 1:17 ). Of course, grace and mercy are sister kind of words. Mercy and truth. Grace and truth. "By mercy and truth iniquity is cleansed."

and by the fear [or the reverence] of the LORD men depart from evil ( Proverbs 16:6 ).

Now the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. And so here, "By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil." There is a tremendous inconsistency; John points it out in his first epistle. He said, "He that saith he hath fellowship with God and walketh in darkness is lying" ( 1 John 1:6 ). He isn't telling the truth. You cannot walk in fellowship with God and have a desire and a love for evil. "By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil."

When a man's ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him ( Proverbs 16:7 ).

Thus, really the goal of each of our lives is and should be to be pleasing to God. Not what pleases you. Now usually we use as our standard, is it right or is it wrong? And trying to measure... and this was, of course, the mistake that the religious leaders in Judaism made concerning the law. Now what constitutes bearing a burden on the Sabbath day? What if you had false teeth? If you put your false teeth on on the Sabbath day, that means you're bearing a burden, doesn't it? You're carrying something that isn't natural to you. What about if you have a wooden leg? Sure, that's a burden so you can't put it on on the Sabbath day. And all of these little fine points, you know, they're trying to tune the fine points of right and wrong.

You can throw all of that out the window. The real question is: is it pleasing to God? Is God pleased with it? Because you may sit down and rationalize that a particular action, a particular thing that you want to do, you may rationalize and say, "Well, sure, look, it's all right," and give all of your rationale for why it's right. But it may not be pleasing to God. So really the rightness or the wrongness of a particular action isn't what really matters. What really matters is, does it really please the Lord? My life, I desire that my life be pleasing. Jesus said, "I do always those things that please the Father" ( John 8:29 ). Now, if you use that as your standard, you won't have to worry about right or wrong. You won't have to sit and examine the thing to see if it's really right or really wrong. Hey, does it please God? That's where it's at. "When a man's ways please the Lord, then the Lord makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."

Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues without right ( Proverbs 16:8 ).

"A little that a righteous man hath is greater riches than many wicked" ( Psalms 37:16 ). Same concept.

A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps ( Proverbs 16:9 ).

How many times our plans have been changed by the Lord. We've decided we're going to do something, and God throws the monkey wrench in and stops us. I'm always sensitive to interruptions. Maybe God is trying to stop me. You know, the man who is expecting to be disturbed is the man who is never disturbed when disturbances come. If you are open to God and you think, "Well, Lord, any time I'm heading down a path You don't want, You just stop me." Therefore, I am expecting to be disturbed. Therefore, when the disturbance comes, it doesn't disturb me, because my life and my steps are committed to the Lord.

So we devise something in our heart, but God directs our steps. And I want it that way. I don't want to do my own will. I don't want to fulfill my own purposes. I want God to stop me whenever I am getting out of line and doing something that isn't from Him and directed by Him. I want the Lord to interrupt me. I want God to disturb me. I want God to direct my steps.

A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment ( Proverbs 16:10 ).

Now herein, of course, is a beautiful situation. When the king is a godly king, then God will direct his mouth, his lips and place, actually, God's sentences within his lips. And his mouth will not transgress. Will be faithful in judgment.

A just weight and balance are the LORD'S: all the weights of the bag are his work ( Proverbs 16:11 ).

Now, again, we'll get another proverb that deals with this pretty soon. All of their merchandising was done with the balanced scales. And so they would have little bags of weights. And the crooked merchant would have two bags of weights, divers weights: one that they would sell with, and one that they would buy with. So butchers have had their thumbs on the scales for years. Goes back to the time of Proverbs. Where in the balancing, they would use one set of weights to buy, and they would use another bag of weights to sell. It's an abomination unto the Lord. False balances, an abomination unto God. But the true, honest in business. "A just weight and balance are the Lord's, and all the weights of the bag are His work."

It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness ( Proverbs 16:12 ).

So those who are in leadership actually have a greater responsibility before God.

Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaks right. The wrath of the king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it. In the light of the king's countenance is life; and his favor is as a cloud of the latter rain ( Proverbs 16:13-15 ).

So here we have four proverbs that are related to each other because they all deal with kings. And inasmuch as none of you are kings, I don't know, maybe you are. You're the King's kids.

Now Solomon declares:

How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver! ( Proverbs 16:16 )

You remember when he started out, God said to Solomon, "Ask of Me whatever you desire," and Solomon prayed for wisdom. And God said, "In that you have asked for wisdom, you've asked for a good thing. And I will grant unto you wisdom. But I will also grant unto you that which you did not ask: riches and so forth." And so wisdom, understanding, these are more valuable than gold, treasure, silver.

The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: and he that keeps his way preserveth his soul ( Proverbs 16:17 ).

Then one that is very familiar, but so often misquoted. How many times you've heard people say, "Pride goeth before a fall." That's not a scripture. This is the scripture from which that quotation is taken, but it is misquoted.

Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall ( Proverbs 16:18 ).

So pride goes before destruction. That haughty spirit, going to be brought down. "Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord, He shall lift thee up" ( James 4:10 ). "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted; he that exalteth himself shall be abased" ( Matthew 23:12 ).

Better it is to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud ( Proverbs 16:19 ).

So a couple of them that deal with pride and humility.

He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he ( Proverbs 16:20 ).

How neat it is to just have your trust in the Lord. Happy man. You're not really disturbed by the circumstances of life. My trust is in God. Happy is he.

The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning. Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly ( Proverbs 16:21-22 ).

So understanding. "With all of thy getting, get understanding" ( Proverbs 4:7 ), David said to Solomon. It's a wellspring of life to him who has it. Oh God, grant to us a better understanding. I think to have understanding is so important, because I think it is the key to compassion. There are many people in many circumstances in which we find it difficult to be compassionate.

In operating summer camps, which I did for years and years, you get those kids that are just behavioral problems. I've had the counselors come in and say, "You better get that kid out of my group or I'm going to kill him. He's horrible. You know, he's just screaming at night and always creating problems. I can't stand that kid. Get him out of there before you have to carry him out. Going to do something rash." And so I'll bring the little kid in and I'll sit him down and, of course, you know, he has to go to Chuck. And he comes in all trembling, and you know here he is. Like I'm going to be a monster. And I'll go over and buy him an ice cream bar and sit him down and start talking, asking him, you know, about his home, about his background. Little kid will start unfolding the story how his dad, he never sees him. Doesn't know where he is. Comes home, his mom's usually drunk. Different men in the house who yell at him and tell him to get out of there, and all this kind of stuff. Man, you get the background stories of some of these little guys and you can't believe it! It's horrible. And then I'll call the counselor back in and I said, "Do you realize that this is what happens when this little kid goes home and this is what the situation is?" "Oh, wow." We have a whole changed attitude towards him. Now you understand why he's fighting everybody. Man, this little kid has to fight for survival. And as you understand now the background, now you can have compassion, and now you can deal with him, and now you can minister to him.

Understanding is such an important thing. Ezekiel said, "I sat where they sat" ( Ezekiel 3:15 ). And you really need to sit in another man's place for a while to really understand that other person. I think one of the keys to relationship is to put yourself in the other person's position. We have so many labor problems. Well, if you could reverse roles, if management could sit where labor is, and if labor could sit where management is, you could remove so many of these labor problems. The management would understand that this guy has to have a decent wage to live. But also this guy would understand that management has to have a profit to survive.

If a wife could sit where her husband sits, and if a husband could sit where his wife sits, how many problems this would solve. When he comes home at night, just all frazzled from the pressures and the hassles that he's had all day, and sits down and just wants to turn on TV, and just tune out for a while, and he's uncommunicative to his wife, well, if she could just understand the pressures, the hassles he's had. On the same token, if he could just be with those kids all day long and be communicating to them, he'd understand the wife's need to communicate on a different level when he gets home. "And I sat where they sat." Understanding, understanding the other person's position is so important, really, to compassion, to love. "It's a wellspring of life to him who has it." Oh God, grant that we might have better understanding.

The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips ( Proverbs 16:23 ).

So the heart is the issue of life.

Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, health to the bones ( Proverbs 16:24 ).

Now, I don't know if the scientists have ever made any relationship between honey and the bones, but it's sweet to the soul, honey, and health to the bones. What are they? Pleasant words. Oh, just cheerful words, pleasant words. How good they are.

There is a way that seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways of death ( Proverbs 16:25 ).

I think of so many people today who are deceived by false prophets, who are deceived by false religious systems. They're convinced that they are right. "There is a way that seems right unto man, but the end of it" ( Proverbs 14:12 ). There's another scripture, "Every man's way is right in his own eyes" ( Proverbs 21:2 ). But here, "There is a way that seems right." The way of life, you know. The philosophy of life that a man has chosen. It seems to be right. Eat, drink and merry. Tomorrow we die, you know. And you talk to that guy and he's convinced that his philosophy is correct. "But the end thereof, the way of death."

He that laboreth, laboreth for himself; for the mouth craves it of him ( Proverbs 16:26 ).

It's a thing that your labor goes to feed yourself.

An ungodly man digs up evil: and in his lips there is a burning fire ( Proverbs 16:27 ).

Actually, James says, "Behold, what a great fire such a little matter kindleth! And the tongue is like a fire" ( James 3:5-6 ). The things that it can enflame.

A perverse man sows strife: and a whisperer can separate the best of friends. A violent man entices his neighbor, and leads him into the way that is not good. He shuts his eyes to devise perverse things: moving his lips he brings evil to pass. Now the hoary head [which is the gray, the hoary frost, the white hair] is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness ( Proverbs 16:28-31 ).

I think that one of the worst things in the world is a dirty old man. You know when people get old and gray-headed, they're supposed to all be sweet and kind and loving. After all, they're getting towards the end, and so you ought to be mellow. And to see a little old gray-hair lady using four-letter words and all that kind of... it just, it's just wrong. It's out of place.

My daughter used to work for a medical supply firm and she had to deliver some things to this little old lady in the hospital. And she walked in and saw her and thought, "Oh, what a sweet-looking little old lady." And then this lady you know says, "Who the hell are you? And what are you doing here?" And just started all this filthy language. And it's just somehow incongruent; it's just out of place. "The gray hair is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness." But man, if it's not.

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit is better than he that takes a city ( Proverbs 16:32 ).

How important it is. Slow to anger, ruling our own spirits. Important.

The lot is cast into the lap ( Proverbs 16:33 );

Now it's a... the lot is a thing whereby they would oftentimes determine. You know, it's like drawing a straw. They would cast lots into their lap.

but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD ( Proverbs 16:33 ).

Trying to get guidance or direction or to determine, they cast lots. But the real direction, the disposing of the thing comes from God. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The meaning of this proverb is similar to that of Proverbs 16:9. Even though man has freedom to plan, in the end he only fulfills the will of God by what he says. Man plans his words, but what really comes out takes place because God sovereignly controls. "Man proposes, God disposes," is a common equivalent.

". . . when someone is trying to speak before others, the Lord directs the words according to his sovereign will." [Note: Ibid., p. 1002.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. Trusting God ch. 16

In this chapter, there is also a slight change in the form of the proverbs. Solomon expressed the earlier proverbs (chs. 10-15) mainly in antithetical parallelisms, but the proverbs in this section are mainly synonymous and synthetic parallelisms. Instead of the key word being "but" it now becomes "and."

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

The preparations of the heart in man,.... The sense of these words, according to our version, depends upon the next clause, and the meaning of the whole is, that a man can neither think nor speak without God: the "orderings" or "marshallings of the heart" a, as it may be rendered; that is, of the thoughts of the heart, which are generally irregular and confused; the ranging them in order, as an army in battle array, or as things regularly placed on a well furnished table; the fixing them on any particular subject, though about things civil and natural, so as closely to attend to them, and proceed in a regular manner in the consideration of them, are not without the concurrence of divine Providence: and whereas the thoughts of men's hearts are evil, and that continually, and nothing but evil thoughts naturally proceed from thence; the ordering and marshalling of them, and fixing them to the attention and consideration of divine and spiritual things, are not without the supernatural grace of God; for we cannot think a good thought of ourselves, nor indeed anything of ourselves in a spiritual manner, 2 Corinthians 3:5; all preparations for religious service and duty, whether it be to pray unto God, or to preach in his name, are from the Lord; it is he that works in men both "to will and to do"; that gives them the willing mind, or a suitable frame for service, as well as ability to perform it; that pours out the Spirit of grace and supplication on them, and disposes and directs their minds to proper petitions, and furnishes his ministering servants in their studies with agreeable matter for their ministrations, Psalms 10:17;

and the answer of the tongue [is] from the Lord; who made man's mouth, and teaches him what to say, both before God and man; what he shall say in prayer to him, or in preaching to others; for the "door of utterance" in either service is from him, as well as the preparation for it: most versions and interpreters make these clauses distinct, the one as belonging to men, the other to God; thus, "to men [belong] the preparations of the heart, but from the Lord is the answer" or "[speech] of the tongue"; the former is said by way of concession, and according to the opinion of men; and the sense may be, be it so, that man has the marshalling and ordering of his own thoughts, and that he can lay things together in his mind, and think pertinently and properly on a subject, and is capable of preparing matter for a discourse; yet it is as easy to observe, that men can better form ideas of things in their minds, the they can express their sense and meaning; and though they may be ever so well prepared to speak, yet they are not able to do it, unless the Lord gives them utterance, and assists their memories; they lose what they had prepared, or deliver it in a disorderly and confused manner, and sometimes think to say one thing, and say another; their tongues are overruled by the Lord to say what they never intended, as in the cases of Balaam and Caiaphas. The Targum is,

"from man is the counsel of the heart, and from the Lord is the speech of the tongue.''

a מערכי לב "dispositiones sive ordinationes", Montanus, Munster, Vatablus, Piscator, Cocceius, Michaelis; "instructiones adversae aciei in corde", Schultens.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

      As we read this, it teaches us a great truth, that we are not sufficient of ourselves to think or speak any thing of ourselves that is wise and good, but that all our sufficiency is of God, who is with the heart and with the mouth, and works in us both to will and to do,Philippians 2:13; Psalms 10:17. But most read it otherwise: The preparation of the heart is in man (he may contrive and design this and the other) but the answer of the tongue, not only the delivering of what he designed to speak, but the issue and success of what he designed to do, is of the Lord. That is, in short, 1. Man purposes. He has a freedom of thought and a freedom of will permitted him; let him form his projects, and lay his schemes, as he thinks best: but, after all, 2. God disposes. Man cannot go on with his business without the assistance and blessing of God, who made man's mouth and teaches us what we shall say. Nay, God easily can, and often does, cross men's purposes, and break their measures. It was a curse that was prepared in Balaam's heart, but the answer of the tongue was a blessing.