Proverbs 16:5
in Proverbs 16Everyone who is proud in heart is detestable to the LORD; be assured that he will not go unpunished.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to Jehovah: Though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
KJV
Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
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This verse in Proverbs 16
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThough hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished - The day of wrath shall come on the wicked, whatever means he may take to avoid it. See Pro 11:21.
This site's exposition
Everyone who is proud in heart is detestable to the LORD
on Proverbs 16:5-7
“Everyone who is proud in heart is detestable to the LORD,” and the warning is total: “be assured that he will not go unpunished”. Verse 7 adds a promise: “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him”.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Because nothing so alienates men from the lovingkindness of God, and gives them over to the fire of the pit, as the tyranny of pride. For when this is present with us, our whole life becomes impure, even though we fulfill temperance, chastity, fasting, prayer, almsgiving, anything. For, "Every one," saith the wise man, "that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord." Let us then restrain this swelling of the soul, let us cut up by the roots this lump of pride, if at least we would wish to be clean, and to escape the punishment appointed for the devil. For that the proud must fall under the same punishment as that (wicked) one, hear Paul declare; "Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride, he fall into the judgment, and the snare of the devil." What is "the judgment"? He means, into the same "condemnation," the same punishment.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Every arrogant person is an abomination to the Lord, etc. Whoever attributes to himself the good that he does, even if he appears to work nothing evil with his hands, has already lost the innocence of his heart, in which he has preferred himself to …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord,....
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תּוֹעֲבַ֣ת | toavat | [is] [the] abomination of | H8441 → | 117 times |
| יְ֭הוָה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| גְּבַהּ־ | gevah- | [person] haughty of | H1364 → | |
| לֵ֑ב | lev | heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
| יָ֥ד | yad | hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| לְ֝יָ֗ד | leyad | to hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִנָּקֶֽה׃ | yinakeh | he will go unpunished | H5352 → | 44 times |
תּוֹעֲבַ֣ת[is] [the] abomination of
toavatH8441 →117 times
יְ֭הוָהYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
גְּבַהּ־[person] haughty of
gevah-H1364 →
לֵ֑בheart
levH3820 →595 times
יָ֥דhand
yadH3027 →1618 times
לְ֝יָ֗דto hand
leyadH3027 →1618 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִנָּקֶֽה׃he will go unpunished
yinakehH5352 →44 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
James 4:6But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
it leads to
- Matthew 23:12
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
- Proverbs 3:34
He mocks the mockers, but gives grace to the humble.
- 1 Peter 5:5
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Psalms 138:6
Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.
- Proverbs 18:12
Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.
- Matthew 23:12
Through
Proverbs 8:13To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.
it leads to
- Psalms 97:10
Hate evil, O you who love the LORD! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
- Proverbs 16:6
By loving devotion and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns aside from evil.
- 1 Samuel 2:3
Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by Him actions are weighed.
- Psalms 97:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
About Proverbs

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John 9; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
