Bible Strands
Proverbs 16:25
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The book of Proverbs addresses a learner or general reader, situating this warning between instructions on pleasant speech and the drive of labor.
The words — יָשָׁר (yashar) literally means straight or right, and מָוֶת (mavet) means death, establishing the verse’s structural contrast between perceived correctness and actual ruin.
The thread — The identical formulation appears in Proverbs 14:12, while Proverbs 12:15 connects the theme to the fool’s self-deception, and 2 Corinthians 13:5 extends the principle to personal spiritual examination.
Why it lands — The text states that subjective conviction cannot guarantee a safe outcome, requiring readers to test their path against external standards rather than trusting their own assessment.
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
There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
- Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel.
- 2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you fail the test?
- Proverbs 12:26 A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the ways of the wicked lead them astray.
- Isaiah 28:15 For you said, “We have made a covenant with death; we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol. When the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not touch us, because we have made lies our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.”
- John 7:47 “Have you also been deceived?” replied the Pharisees.
- John 9:40 Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?”
- Acts 26:9 So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.