Proverbs 20:26
24 A man’s steps are from the LORD, so how can anyone understand his own way?
25 It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly, only later to reconsider his vows.
A wise king separates out the wicked and drives the threshing wheel over them.
27 The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching out his inmost being.
28 Loving devotion and faithfulness preserve a king; by these he maintains his throne.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- A wise king separates out the wicked and drives the threshing wheel over them.
- KJV
- A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
- WEB
- A wise king winnows out the wicked, and drives the threshing wheel over them.
- ASV
- A wise king winnoweth the wicked, And bringeth the [threshing] -wheel over them.
- DARBY
- A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
- BLB
- Wise [is] a king scattering the wicked—he even turns the wheel over them.
- ÅB
- En vis konge skiller ut de ugudelige og lar hjulet gå over dem.
- OTB
- En klok konge skiller ut de onde og kjører treskehjul over dem.
- B1930
- En vis konge skiller ut de ugudelige og lar hjulet gå over dem.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Proverbs 20:8
A king who sits on a throne to judge sifts out all evil with his eyes.
Read in context2 Samuel 12:31
David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.
Read in contextPsalms 101:5–8
Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not endure.
Read in context2 Samuel 4:9–12
But David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress,
Read in contextIsaiah 28:27–28
Surely caraway is not threshed with a sledge, and the wheel of a cart is not rolled over the cumin. But caraway is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod.
Read in context