Proverbs 16:1-9
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 16
1 A man may make plans in his heart,
but the Lord provides the words that his tongue utters.[a]
2 A man’s ways may seem honorable to him,
but the Lord weighs his motives.
3 Entrust everything that you do to the Lord,
and your plans will turn out to be successful.
4 The Lord has made everything for his own purposes,
even the wicked for the day of disaster.[b]
5 The Lord abhors the proud man;
be assured that such a man will not go unpunished.
6 Iniquity is expiated by kindness and faithfulness,
and by fear of the Lord[c] man turns away from evil.
7 When the Lord is pleased with someone’s conduct.
he makes even that man’s enemies friends with him.[d]
8 It is better to have little and be righteous
than to acquire great riches with injustice.
9 A man may plan his own course,
but the Lord makes his steps secure.[e]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 16:1 People make plans, but it is God’s grace that enables them to accomplish them (see Prov 19:21).
- Proverbs 16:4 God’s providence works in every life and in all history (see Eccl 7:14; Rom 8:28). Even the wicked, in their punishment, glorify God and his justice (see Ex 9:16).
- Proverbs 16:6 When God’s people repent of sin and obey his will, God offers forgiveness and withholds his chastisement (see Isa 1:18-19; 55:7; Jer 3:22; Ezek 18:23, 30-32; 33:11-16; Hos 14:1-4). Hence, iniquity can be said to be expiated by kindness and faithfulness—inasmuch as the latter ward off God’s wrath against it. Fear of the Lord: see note on Prov 1:7.
- Proverbs 16:7 By his grace God turns the enemies of his faithful into their friends (see Rom 8:28).
- Proverbs 16:9 When making plans for our future, we must always remember that they depend on God’s will: “If it is the Lord’s will, we shall live to do this or that” (Jas 4:15).
