God & Savior

Proverbs 16:9

A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
Proverbs 16:9
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Study notes

A person plans their way, but the Lord directs their steps.

Explanation

Planning is normal and good, but God has the final say over where our steps actually go.

Original language
  • לֵ֣ב (lev): heart
    Hebrew · Noun, masculine, singular, construct · Strong's H3820A · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Heart.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Proverbs 16:9, word 1

  • יְחַשֵּׁ֣ב (ye.cha.Shev): devise
    Hebrew · Verb, piel, imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · Strong's H2803I · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    It plans.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Proverbs 16:9, word 3

  • יָכִ֥ין (ya.Khin): establish
    Hebrew · Verb, hiphil, imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · Strong's H3559H · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    He directs, establishes.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Proverbs 16:9, word 6

  • צַעֲדֽוֹ (tza.'a.Do): step
    Hebrew · Noun, masculine, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · Strong's H6806 · text: Leningrad Codex (as recorded in TAHOT)

    Steps.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAHOT: Translators Amalgamated Hebrew Old Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, Proverbs 16:9, word 7

Cross-references
Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Hebrew)

לֵ֣ב אָ֭דָם יְחַשֵּׁ֣ב דַּרְכּ֑וֹ וַֽ֝יהוָ֗ה יָכִ֥ין צַעֲדֽוֹ׃

  1. לֵ֣בlev“[the] heart of”
    Noun, masculine, singular, construct · from לֵב · “heart” · Strong's H3820A
  2. אָ֭דָם'A.dom“a person”
    Noun, masculine, singular, absolute · from אָדָם · “man” · Strong's H0120G
  3. יְחַשֵּׁ֣בye.cha.Shev“it plans”
    Verb, piel, imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from חָשַׁב · “devise” · Strong's H2803I
  4. דַּרְכּ֑וֹdar.Ko“way his”
    Noun, both genders, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from דֶּ֫רֶךְ · “journey” · Strong's H1870L
  5. וַֽ֝יהוָ֗הva.Yah.weh“and Yahweh”
    Conjunction + Noun, proper name, title · from יהוה · “LORD” · Strong's H3068G
  6. יָכִ֥יןya.Khin“he directs”
    Verb, hiphil, imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from כּוּן · “establish” · Strong's H3559H
  7. צַעֲדֽוֹ׃tza.'a.Do“step[s] his”
    Noun, masculine, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from צַ֫עַד · “step” · Strong's H6806
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Hebrew and Aramaic words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)