Amsal 15:11

15:11 Death and Destruction ¹  are before the Lord –

how much more ²  the hearts of humans! ³ 

Amsal 16:2

16:2 All a person’s ways ⁴  seem right ⁵  in his own opinion, ⁶ 

but the Lord evaluates ⁷  the motives. ⁸ 

Amsal 21:2

21:2 All of a person’s ways seem right in his own opinion, ⁹ 

but the Lord evaluates ¹⁰  the motives. ¹¹ 

Amsal 24:12

24:12 If you say, “But we did not know about this,”

does not the one who evaluates ¹²  hearts consider?

Does not the one who guards your life know?

Will he not repay each person according to his deeds? ¹³ 

[15:11]  ¹ tn Heb “Sheol and Abaddon” (שְׁאוֹל וַאֲבַדּוֹן (shÿ’ol va’adon); so ASV, NASB, NRSV; cf. KJV “Hell and destruction”; NAB “the nether world and the abyss.” These terms represent the remote underworld and all the mighty powers that reside there (e.g., Prov 27:20; Job 26:6; Ps 139:8; Amos 9:2; Rev 9:11). The Lord knows everything about this remote region.

[15:11]  ² tn The construction אַף כִּי (’af ki, “how much more!”) introduces an argument from the lesser to the greater: If all this is open before the Lord, how much more so human hearts. “Hearts” here is a metonymy of subject, meaning the motives and thoughts (cf. NCV “the thoughts of the living”).

[15:11]  ³ tn Heb “the hearts of the sons of man,” although here “sons of man” simply means “men” or “human beings.”

[16:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “ways of a man.”

[16:2]  ⁵ sn The Hebrew term translated “right” (z~E) means “innocent” (NIV) or “pure” (NAB, NRSV, NLT). It is used in the Bible for pure oils or undiluted liquids; here it means unmixed actions. Therefore on the one hand people rather naively conclude that their actions are fine.

[16:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “in his eyes.”

[16:2]  ⁷ tn The figure (a hypocatastasis) of “weighing” signifies “evaluation” (e.g., Exod 5:8; 1 Sam 2:3; 16:7; Prov 21:2; 24:12). There may be an allusion to the Egyptian belief of weighing the heart after death to determine righteousness. But in Hebrew thought it is an ongoing evaluation as well, not merely an evaluation after death.

[16:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “spirits” (so KJV, ASV). This is a metonymy for the motives, the intentions of the heart (e.g., 21:2 and 24:2).

[16:2]  sn Humans deceive themselves rather easily and so appear righteous in their own eyes; but the proverb says that God evaluates motives and so he alone can determine if the person’s ways are innocent.

[21:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “in his own eyes.” The term “eyes” is a metonymy for estimation, opinion, evaluation.

[21:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “weighs” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “examines”; NCV, TEV “judges.”

[21:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the hearts.” The term לֵב (lev, “heart”) is used as a metonymy of association for thoughts and motives (BDB 660-61 s.v. 6-7). Even though people think they know themselves, the Lord evaluates motives as well (e.g., Prov 16:2).

[24:12]  ¹² tn Heb “weighs” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV) meaning “tests” or “evaluates.”

[24:12]  ¹³ sn The verse completes the saying by affirming that people will be judged responsible for helping those in mortal danger. The verse uses a series of rhetorical questions to affirm that God knows our hearts and we cannot plead ignorance.