Bible Strands
Proverbs 16:2
All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed out by the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Wisdom instruction with no narrative scene; the sage addresses a reader within a three-verse unit (16:1–3) that brackets human planning between divine sovereignty and the call to commit works to Yahweh.
The words — רוּח֣וֹת (ruachot, "spirits") is rendered "motives" in the BSB, but the Hebrew word is broader and more visceral than the English. תֹכֵן (tochen, "weighing") evokes a balance-scale, not a casual glance.
The thread — Proverbs 21:2 repeats the structure almost verbatim ("weighs the heart"). 1 Samuel 16:7 and Luke 16:15 extend the same contrast: human self-assessment versus divine scrutiny.
Why it lands — It strips the reader of the final say over their own intentions. The verse does not condemn; it simply relocates the judgment seat.
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
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 21:2 All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.
- 1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”
- Luke 16:15 So 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.
- Proverbs 30:12 There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth.
- Jeremiah 17:10 I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
- Proverbs 24:12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,” does not He who weighs hearts consider it? Does not the One who guards your life know? Will He not repay a man according to his deeds?
- Psalms 36:2 For his eyes are too full of conceit to detect or hate his own sin.
- Proverbs 5:21 For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
- Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
- Jeremiah 2:22 Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD.