Amsal 16:33

16:33 The dice are thrown into the lap, ¹ 

but their every decision ²  is from the Lord. ³ 

Amsal 21:1

21:1 The king’s heart ⁴  is in the hand ⁵  of the Lord like channels of water; ⁶ 

he turns it wherever he wants.

[16:33]  ¹ tn Heb “the lot is cast.” Because the ancient practice of “casting lots” is unfamiliar to many modern readers, the imagery has been updated to “throwing dice.”

[16:33]  sn The proverb concerns the practice of seeking divine leading through casting lots. For a similar lesson, see Amenemope (18, 19:16-17, in ANET 423).

[16:33]  ² tn Heb “all its decision.”

[16:33]  ³ sn The point concerns seeking God’s will through the practice. The Lord gives guidance in decisions that are submitted to him.

[21:1]  ⁴ sn “Heart” is a metonymy of subject; it signifies the ability to make decisions, if not the decisions themselves.

[21:1]  ⁵ sn “Hand” in this passage is a personification; the word is frequently used idiomatically for “power,” and that is the sense intended here.

[21:1]  ⁶ tn “Channels of water” (פַּלְגֵי, palge) is an adverbial accusative, functioning as a figure of comparison – “like channels of water.” Cf. NAB “Like a stream”; NIV “watercourse”; NRSV, NLT “a stream of water.”

[21:1]  sn The farmer channels irrigation ditches where he wants them, where they will do the most good; so does the Lord with the king. No king is supreme; the Lord rules.