Proverbs 20:5

New English Translation

⁵Counsel^[a] in a person’s heart^[b] is like^[c] deep water,^[d]
but an understanding person^[e] draws it out.

Proverbs 20:5 sn The noun means “advice, counsel”; it can have the connotation of planning or making decisions. Those with understanding can sort out plans.
Proverbs 20:5 tn The Hebrew term לֶב (lev) refers to the “mind” (NRSV) as well as the “heart” (KJV, NIV, NASB). The expression refers to unspoken thoughts.
Proverbs 20:5 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
Proverbs 20:5 sn The motives or plans of a person are “difficult to fathom”; it takes someone with understanding to discover and surface them (the verb in the last colon continues the figure with the sense of bringing the plans to the surface and sorting them out).
Proverbs 20:5 tn Heb “a man of understanding”; TEV “someone with insight”; NLT “the wise.”

New English Translation (NET)