Proverbs 20:11
in Proverbs 20Even a young man is known by his actions—whether his conduct is pure and upright.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Even a child maketh himself known by his doings, Whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
KJV
Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
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This verse in Proverbs 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseEven a child is known by his doings,.... As well as a man; "ye shall know them by their fruits", Mat 7:16; professors and profane.
This site's exposition
Differing weights and unequal measures
on Proverbs 20:10-12
Differing weights and unequal measures are named detestable to the LORD here and again at verse 23, framing the verses between under the same standard. The LORD made the ears that hear and the eyes that see, and the one who made them is not fooled by what they report.
This site's exposition
is known by his actions
Albert Barnes calls the faults and graces of children no trifles, for the earliest actions foretell the man. John Gill joins the verse to the test of a tree by its fruit in Matthew 7:16. His conduct shows whether he is pure.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Even by his pursuits, a youth is known, etc. For whomsoever you see striving for virtues, modesty, continence, listening to the wise, and observing the commandments of God, especially humility and simplicity, know that his works are pure and right. But whomsoever you find taking …
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The graces or the faults of children are not trifles. “The child is father of the man;” and the earliest actions are prophecies of the future, whether it will be pure and right, or unclean and evil.
Even a child is known by his doings - That is, in general terms, the effect shows the nature of the cause. “A childe is known by his conversation,” says Coverdale. A child is easily detected when he has done evil; he immediately begins to excuse and vindicate himself, and profess his innocence, almost before accusation takes place. Some think the words should be understood, every child will dissemble; this amounts nearly to the meaning given above, But probably the principal this intended by the wise man is, that we may easily learn from the child what the man will be. In general, they give indications of those trades and callings for which they are adapted by nature. And, on the whole, we cannot go by a surer guide in preparing our children for future life, than by observing their early propensities. The future engineer is seen in the little handicraftsman of two years old. Many children are crossed in these early propensities to a particular calling, to their great prejudice, and the loss of their parents, as they seldom settle at, or succeed in, the business to which they are tied, and to which nature has given them no tendency. These infantine predilections to particular callings, we should consider as indications of Divine Providence, and its calling of them to that work for which they are peculiarly fitted.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The hearing ear and the seeing eye, etc. They are His handiwork, and He desires an ear that hears reproof and an eye that sees what will develop.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גַּ֣ם | gam | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| בְּ֭מַעֲלָלָיו | bemaalalav | by deeds his | H4611 → | |
| יִתְנַכֶּר־ | yitnaker- | he makes himself known | H5234 → | 49 times |
| נָ֑עַר | naar | a youth | H5288 → | 239 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| זַ֖ךְ | zakh | [is] pure | H2134 → | 11 times |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| יָשָׁ֣ר | yashar | [is] upright | H3477 → | 119 times |
| פָּעֳלֽוֹ׃ | poolo | activity his | H6467 → | 37 times |
גַּ֣םalso
gamH1571 →769 times
בְּ֭מַעֲלָלָיוby deeds his
bemaalalavH4611 →
יִתְנַכֶּר־he makes himself known
yitnaker-H5234 →49 times
נָ֑עַרa youth
naarH5288 →239 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
זַ֖ךְ[is] pure
zakhH2134 →11 times
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
יָשָׁ֣ר[is] upright
yasharH3477 →119 times
פָּעֳלֽוֹ׃activity his
pooloH6467 →37 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
Psalms 51:5Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
it leads to
- Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.
- Job 14:4
Who can bring out clean from unclean? No one!
- Psalms 58:3
The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth.
- Job 15:14–16
What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
- Ephesians 2:3
All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.
- Romans 5:12
Through
Matthew 7:16By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
it leads to
- Luke 6:43–45
No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
- Matthew 12:33
Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.
- James 3:12
My brothers, can a fig tree grow olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
- Luke 6:43–45
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.