Proverbs 20:23
in Proverbs 20Unequal weights are detestable to the LORD, and dishonest scales are no good.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Diverse weights are an abomination to Jehovah; And a false balance is not good.
KJV
Divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord; and a false balance is not good.
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This verse in Proverbs 20
Commentary
4 notes on this verseIt is an abomination to the Lord to have diverse weights, etc. For having diverse weights and a deceitful scale in one's heart means that while seeking pardon from the Lord for one's own sins, one is unwilling to forgive a man who has sinned …
This site's exposition
Whoever curses his father or mother
on Proverbs 20:20-23
Whoever curses his father or mother carries the weight of Exodus 21:17 into a proverb, his lamp put out "in deepest darkness." The reader who would avenge evil is told to "Wait on the LORD," trading private revenge for the LORD's own timing.
This site's exposition
Unequal weights are detestable to the LORD
The verse repeats verse 10 and closes the frame it opened. Bede reads the unequal weights inward, a man seeking pardon from the Lord while refusing to forgive another. Dishonest scales are no good.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord,....
The words behind it
8 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 | [are] [the] abomination of | H8441 → | 117 times |
| יְ֭הוָה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶ֣בֶן | ʾeven | a weight | H68 → | 273 times |
| וָאָ֑בֶן | vaaven | and a weight | H68 → | 273 times |
| וּמֹאזְנֵ֖י | umoznei | and balances of | H3976 → | 15 times |
| מִרְמָ֣ה | mirmah | deceit | H4820 → | 39 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| טֽוֹב׃ | tov | [are] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
תּוֹעֲבַ֣ת[are] [the] abomination of
toavatH8441 →117 times
יְ֭הוָהYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶ֣בֶןa weight
ʾevenH68 →273 times
וָאָ֑בֶןand a weight
vaavenH68 →273 times
וּמֹאזְנֵ֖יand balances of
umozneiH3976 →15 times
מִרְמָ֣הdeceit
mirmahH4820 →39 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
טֽוֹב׃[are] good
tovH2896 →538 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
Proverbs 11:1Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 25:13–16
You shall not have two differing weights in your bag, one heavy and one light.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 16:11
Honest scales and balances are from the LORD; all the weights in the bag are His concern.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 20:10
Differing weights and unequal measures—both are detestable to the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 12:7
A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 19:35–36
You must not use dishonest measures of length, weight, or volume.
- Deuteronomy 25:13–16
Through
Amos 8:5asking, “When will the New Moon be over, that we may sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, that we may market wheat? Let us reduce the ephah and increase the shekel; let us…
it leads to
- Micah 6:10–11
Can I forget any longer, O house of the wicked, the treasures of wickedness and the short ephah, which is accursed?
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- Nehemiah 13:15–21
In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being…
- Micah 6:10–11
Through
Proverbs 20:10Differing weights and unequal measures—both are detestable to the LORD.
it leads to
- Proverbs 11:1
Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 11:1
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.