Proverbs 20:24
in Proverbs 20A man’s steps are from the LORD, so how can anyone understand his own way?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A man’s goings are of Jehovah; How then can man understand his way?
KJV
Man’s goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?
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This verse in Proverbs 20
Commentary
9 notes on this verseYou maintain that "all are governed by their own free choice." What Christian can bear to hear this? For if not one, or a few or many but all of us are governed by our own free choice, what becomes of the help of God? And how do you explain the text, "A man's goings are ordered by the Lord"?
This site's exposition
A man’s steps are from the LORD
on Proverbs 20:24-27
Since "A man’s steps are from the LORD," no one can understand his own way. Human planning is held inside a sovereignty it cannot fully read. "The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching out his inmost being."
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
John ChrysostomCOMMENTARY ON THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON, FRAGMENT 20:24 · Written before 407.
proposed
"The steps of man are directed by God." A mortal, that is a sinner [as such], cannot [of himself] know the ways of the Lord; in fact, since he is mortal, he has [of yet] neither died nor lived with Christ. Therefore in the journey to the kingdom of heaven the steps of man are directed by the Lord.
Do they suppose, accordingly, that God moves the wills of those whom he has wished to the creation of earthly kingdoms but that he does not move them to the attainment of a heavenly kingdom? But I think that it was in reference to the kingdom of heaven, rather than to an earthly kingdom, that it was said … "The steps of a man are guided by the Lord, but how does a mortal understand his own ways?" Let them hear, "Every man seems just to himself, but the Lord directs the hearts." Let them hear, "As many as were ordained to life everlasting believed." Let them hear these words, and whatever others I have not quoted, by which it is shown that God prepares and converts people's wills also for the kingdom of heaven and for eternal life. And think how strange it would be for us to believe that God moves people's wills for the establishment of earthly kingdoms but that for the attainment of the kingdom of heaven people move their own wills.
The Medieval Church2 voices
The steps of a man are directed by the Lord. Whosoever among men walks the right path, this is not done by the liberty of human will, but by the governance of Him to whom Isaiah says, For you have worked all our works in …
Who among men can understand his way? In this, he says, it is manifestly clear that whatever good anyone has, he does not have it from himself, but by the grace of God, which neither by his own free will can he understand what he …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Man's goings are of the Lord,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Man’s goings are of the Lord - He, by his providence, governs all the great concerns of the world. Man often traverses these operations; but he does it to his own damage. An old writer quaintly says: “They who will carve for themselves shall cut their fingers.”
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The order of a man’s life is a mystery even to himself. He knows not where he is going, or for what God is educating him.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מֵיהוָ֥ה | meyahweh | [are] from Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מִצְעֲדֵי־ | mitzadei- | [the] steps of | H4703 → | |
| גָ֑בֶר | gaver | a man | H1397 → | 65 times |
| וְ֝אָדָ֗ם | veadam | and anyone | H120 → | 551 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| יָּבִ֥ין | yavin | will he understand | H995 → | 170 times |
| דַּרְכּֽוֹ׃ | darko | own way his | H1870 → | 707 times |
מֵיהוָ֥ה[are] from Yahweh
meyahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִצְעֲדֵי־[the] steps of
mitzadei-H4703 →
גָ֑בֶרa man
gaverH1397 →65 times
וְ֝אָדָ֗םand anyone
veadamH120 →551 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
יָּבִ֥יןwill he understand
yavinH995 →170 times
דַּרְכּֽוֹ׃own way his
darkoH1870 →707 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 16:9A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
it leads to
- Psalms 37:23
The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 16:1
The plans of the heart belong to man, but the reply of the tongue is from the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 19:21
Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.
- Jeremiah 10:23
I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.
- Proverbs 21:30
There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
- Psalms 37:23
Through
Psalms 37:23The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey.
it leads to
- Proverbs 16:9
A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
- Psalms 119:133
Order my steps in Your word; let no sin rule over me.
- Proverbs 4:26
Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.
- Proverbs 16:9
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, PREDESTINATION OF THE SAINTS 20:42; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; Jerome, Against the Pelagians 1.27; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON, FRAGMENT 20:24; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.