World English Bible
- The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
- All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the motives.
- Commit your deeds to the LORD, and your plans shall succeed.
- The LORD has made everything for its own end— yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.
- Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; they shall certainly not be unpunished.
- By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for. 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.
- Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues with injustice.
- A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD directs his steps.
- Inspired judgments are on the lips of the king. He shall not betray his mouth.
- Honest balances and scales are the LORD’s; all the weights in the bag are his work.
- It is an abomination for kings to do wrong, for the throne is established by righteousness.
- Righteous lips are the delight of kings. They value one who speaks the truth.
- The king’s wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.
- In the light of the king’s face is life. His favor is like a cloud of the spring rain.
- How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! Yes, to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
- The highway of the upright is to depart from evil. He who keeps his way preserves his soul.
- Pride goes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.
- It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor, than to divide the plunder with the proud.
- He who heeds the Word finds prosperity. Whoever trusts in the LORD is blessed.
- The wise in heart shall be called prudent. Pleasantness of the lips promotes instruction.
- Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it, but the punishment of fools is their folly.
- The heart of the wise instructs his mouth, and adds learning to his lips.
- Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
- There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
- The appetite of the laboring man labors for him, for his mouth urges him on.
- A worthless man devises mischief. His speech is like a scorching fire.
- A perverse man stirs up strife. A whisperer separates close friends.
- A man of violence entices his neighbor, and leads him in a way that is not good.
- One who winks his eyes to plot perversities, one who compresses his lips, is bent on evil.
- Gray hair is a crown of glory. It is attained by a life of righteousness.
- One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; one who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.
- The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
Proverbs 16 begins with a person forming plans and ends with a lot falling from the lap. Between these two acts—careful planning and apparent chance—the Lord reigns. Yet divine sovereignty does not reduce us to puppets. The chapter repeatedly calls us to righteous work, truthful speech, humble hearts, and disciplined anger. Providence is not an excuse for passivity; it is the holy atmosphere in which obedience becomes possible.
The World English Bible says, “The LORD weighs the motives” (verse 2). The Hebrew is even more searching: God weighs the ruachoth—the spirits, impulses, or inner dispositions. Later, verse 11 declares that honest scales and weights belong to him. The merchant’s balance and the human heart are therefore connected. The God who examines weights in the marketplace also examines the hidden weight within our goodness.
We may perform a righteous deed for an unrighteous reason: generosity for admiration, truth spoken to wound, service used to gain control. Human beings see the transaction; God places the spirit behind it upon his scale.
This is why verse 3 does not mean, “Make your plan, ask God to bless it, and success is guaranteed.” The Hebrew verb translated commit is galal, meaning “roll.” Roll your work onto the Lord—its outcome, its reputation, and even your right to control its form. What God establishes may be a purified plan, not the original one. Providence often answers prayer by dismantling the ambition hidden inside it.
The chapter’s royal sayings celebrate just authority, yet verse 32 overturns ancient ideas of greatness. In a world where kings carved military victories into stone, the greater conqueror was the person who ruled his own spirit. Babylonian monuments praised men who captured cities; Scripture praises the believer who refuses to surrender the inner city to anger.
Augustine taught that sin disorders our loves. Self-control, then, is not mere suppression. It is the restoration of rightful government within: God enthroned, love ordered, anger made servant rather than king.
Christ embodies this strength. He could command armies of angels, yet stood silent before accusers. He conquered not by escaping suffering but by refusing to let hatred determine what kind of person he would be.
In the ancient world, lots could be cast into the fold of a garment to settle matters beyond human discernment. Verse 33 does not sanctify superstition. It declares that even where our sight ends, God’s rule does not.
The chapter therefore frees us from two illusions: that planning makes us sovereign, and that uncertainty means God is absent. We may plan wisely, speak carefully, trade honestly, and govern ourselves faithfully—then entrust the unseen result to him.
Suggested cross-references: James 4:13–16; Psalm 139:23–24; Luke 22:42; Acts 4:27–28; Philippians 2:12–13.
Suggested hymn: “Be Thou My Vision.”
Sovereign Lord, weigh my hidden motives and expose every proud desire. Teach me to roll my work upon you, to rule my spirit through your Spirit, and to trust you where I cannot see. Establish in me what pleases you, through Christ our true and righteous King. Amen.