Proverbs 25:3
in Proverbs 25As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings cannot be searched.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, So the heart of kings is unsearchable.
KJV
The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.
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This verse in Proverbs 25
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The other side of the thought of Pro 25:2. What the mind of God is to the searchers after knowledge, that the heart of the true and wise king is to those who try to guess its counsels.
This site's exposition
It is the glory of God
on Proverbs 25:2-3
"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out." God's glory in mystery is answered by a king's glory in careful inquiry. The next verse widens the comparison, since "the hearts of kings cannot be searched."
This site's exposition
the hearts of kings cannot be searched
Albert Barnes reads verse 3 as the other side of verse 2. What the mind of God is to those who search, the heart of a wise king is to those who try to guess his counsels. The heavens and the earth set the scale.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Heaven above, and earth below, etc. Just as the height of heaven and the depth of the earth cannot be comprehended by men, so the knowledge of the prophets and apostles, who, by the Spirit revealing, knew the secrets of divinity, transcends the capacity of …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The heaven for height, and the earth for depth,.... These are eminent for what are ascribed to them; nothing is higher than the heavens, nor anything deeper than the earth; the height of the heavens cannot be reached, and the centre of the earth cannot easily be got unto; the heavens above cannot be measured, and the foundation of the earth cannot be searched beneath; at least not by common persons, whatever may be done in their way by astronomers and geometricians.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Ye wisely keeping state secrets, which to common men are as inaccessible heights and depths. As separating impurities from ore leaves pure silver, so taking from a king wicked counsellors leaves a wise and beneficent government.
The heaven for height - The simple meaning of this is, the reasons of state, in reference to many acts of the executive government, can no more be fathomed by the common people, than the height of the heavens and the depth of the earth.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁמַ֣יִם | shamayim | heaven | H8064 → | 421 times |
| לָ֭רוּם | larum | for <the> height | H7312 → | |
| וָאָ֣רֶץ | vaaretz | and earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לָעֹ֑מֶק | laomek | for <the> depth | H6011 → | |
| וְלֵ֥ב | velev | and [the] heart of | H3820 → | 595 times |
| מְ֝לָכִ֗ים | melakhim | kings | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֵ֣ין | ʾein | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| חֵֽקֶר׃ | cheker | [is] inquiry | H2714 → |
שָׁמַ֣יִםheaven
shamayimH8064 →421 times
לָ֭רוּםfor <the> height
larumH7312 →
וָאָ֣רֶץand earth
vaaretzH776 →2504 times
לָעֹ֑מֶקfor <the> depth
laomekH6011 →
וְלֵ֥בand [the] heart of
velevH3820 →595 times
מְ֝לָכִ֗יםkings
melakhimH4428 →2525 times
אֵ֣יןthere not
ʾeinH369 →789 times
חֵֽקֶר׃[is] inquiry
chekerH2714 →
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
Romans 8:39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
it leads to
- John 10:28–30
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
- Romans 8:35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
- Romans 5:8
But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- Ephesians 3:18–19
will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth
- 1 John 4:19
We love because He first loved us.
- John 10:28–30
Through
Isaiah 55:9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
it leads to
- Romans 11:31–36
so they too have now disobeyed, in order that they too may now receive mercy through the mercy shown to you.
- Psalms 103:11
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.
- Romans 11:31–36
Through
Psalms 103:11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.
it leads to
- Psalms 36:5
Your loving devotion, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 36:5
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; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).