Bible Strands
Proverbs 11:1
Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — A wisdom teacher (traditionally Solomon) addresses a general audience of young learners in a didactic, non-narrative context.
The words — מִרְמָה (mirmah) means active fraud or deceit, not mere error; שְׁלֵמָה (shelamah) means whole, complete, intact — the weight is not merely "accurate" but undamaged and full.
The thread — The same standard recurs in Deuteronomy 25:13 (legal prohibition of two weights), Proverbs 16:11 (all weights belong to the LORD), and Proverbs 20:23 (unequal weights are detestable).
Why it lands — It removes commercial honesty from the realm of personal advantage and places it under divine judgment: cheating in trade is not a gray area but a named abomination.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 25:13 You shall not have two differing weights in your bag, one heavy and one light.
- Proverbs 16:11 Honest scales and balances are from the LORD; all the weights in the bag are His concern.
- Proverbs 20:23 Unequal weights are detestable to the LORD, and dishonest scales are no good.
- Leviticus 19:35 You must not use dishonest measures of length, weight, or volume.
- Proverbs 20:10 Differing weights and unequal measures—both are detestable to the LORD.
- Hosea 12:7 A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands.
- Ezekiel 45:10 You must use honest scales, a just ephah, and a just bath.
- Amos 8:5 asking, “When will the New Moon be over, that we may sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, that we may market wheat? Let us reduce the ephah and increase the shekel; let us cheat with dishonest scales.
- Micah 6:10 Can I forget any longer, O house of the wicked, the treasures of wickedness and the short ephah, which is accursed?