Amsal 16:1

16:1 The intentions of the heart ¹  belong to a man, ² 

but the answer of the tongue ³  comes from ⁴  the Lord. ⁵ 

Amsal 16:7

16:7 When a person’s ⁶  ways are pleasing to the Lord, ⁷ 

he ⁸  even reconciles his enemies to himself. ⁹ 

Amsal 16:9

16:9 A person ¹⁰  plans his course, ¹¹ 

but the Lord directs ¹²  his steps. ¹³ 

[16:1]  ¹ tn Heb “plans of the heart” (so ASV, NASB, NIV). The phrase מַעַרְכֵי־לֵב (ma’arkhe-lev) means “the arrangements of the mind.”

[16:1]  sn Humans may set things in order, plan out what they are going to say, but God sovereignly enables them to put their thoughts into words.

[16:1]  ² tn Heb “[are] to a man.”

[16:1]  ³ tn Here “the tongue” is a metonymy of cause in which the instrument of speech is put for what is said: the answer expressed.

[16:1]  ⁴ sn The contrasting prepositions enhance the contrasting ideas – the ideas belong to people, but the words come from the Lord.

[16:1]  ⁵ sn There are two ways this statement can be taken: (1) what one intends to say and what one actually says are the same, or (2) what one actually says differs from what the person intended to say. The second view fits the contrast better. The proverb then is giving a glimpse of how God even confounds the wise. When someone is trying to speak [“answer” in the book seems to refer to a verbal answer] before others, the Lord directs the words according to his sovereign will.

[16:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “ways of a man.”

[16:7]  ⁷ tn The first line uses an infinitive in a temporal clause, followed by its subject in the genitive case: “in the taking pleasure of the Lord” = “when the Lord is pleased with.” So the condition set down for the second colon is a lifestyle that is pleasing to God.

[16:7]  ⁸ tn The referent of the verb in the second colon is unclear. The straightforward answer is that it refers to the person whose ways please the Lord – it is his lifestyle that disarms his enemies. W. McKane comments that the righteous have the power to mend relationships (Proverbs [OTL], 491); see, e.g., 10:13; 14:9; 15:1; 25:21-22). The life that is pleasing to God will be above reproach and find favor with others. Some would interpret this to mean that God makes his enemies to be at peace with him (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT). This is workable, but in this passage it would seem God would do this through the pleasing life of the believer (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV).

[16:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “even his enemies he makes to be at peace with him.”

[16:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the heart of a man.” This stresses that it is within the heart that plans are made. Only those plans that are approved by God will succeed.

[16:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his way” (so KJV, NASB).

[16:9]  ¹² tn The verb כּוּן (kun, “to establish; to confirm”) with צַעַד (tsa’ad, “step”) means “to direct” (e.g., Ps 119:133; Jer 10:23). This contrasts what people plan and what actually happens – God determines the latter.

[16:9]  ¹³ sn “Steps” is an implied comparison, along with “way,” to indicate the events of the plan as they work out.