Proverbs 20:27
New International Version
The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD that sheds light on one’s inmost being.

New Living Translation
The LORD’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.

English Standard Version
The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts.

Berean Standard Bible
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching out his inmost being.

King James Bible
The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

New King James Version
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.

New American Standard Bible
The spirit of a person is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the innermost parts of his being.

NASB 1995
The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the innermost parts of his being.

NASB 1977
The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the innermost parts of his being.

Legacy Standard Bible
The breath of man is the lamp of Yahweh, Searching all the innermost parts of his body.

Amplified Bible
The spirit (conscience) of man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching and examining all the innermost parts of his being.

Christian Standard Bible
The LORD’s lamp sheds light on a person’s life, searching the innermost parts.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The LORD’s lamp sheds light on a person’s life, searching the innermost parts.

American Standard Version
The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, Searching all his innermost parts.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
The soul of the children of men is the lamp of LORD JEHOVAH, and it searches all the inner rooms of the belly.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
The spirit of man is a light of the Lord, who searches the inmost parts of the belly.

Contemporary English Version
Our inner thoughts are a lamp from the LORD, and they search our hearts.

Douay-Rheims Bible
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, which searcheth all the hidden things of the bowels.

English Revised Version
The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the innermost parts of the belly.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
A person's soul is the LORD's lamp. It searches his entire innermost being.

Good News Translation
The LORD gave us mind and conscience; we cannot hide from ourselves.

International Standard Version
A person's spirit is the lamp of the LORD; it searches throughout one's innermost being.

JPS Tanakh 1917
The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inward parts.

Literal Standard Version
The breath of man [is] a lamp of YHWH, | Searching all the inner parts of the heart.

Majority Standard Bible
The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching out his inmost being.

New American Bible
A lamp from the LORD is human life-breath; it searches through the inmost being.

NET Bible
The human spirit is like the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts.

New Revised Standard Version
The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD, searching every inmost part.

New Heart English Bible
The spirit of man is the LORD's lamp, searching all his innermost parts.

Webster's Bible Translation
The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

World English Bible
The spirit of man is Yahweh’s lamp, searching all his innermost parts.

Young's Literal Translation
The breath of man is a lamp of Jehovah, Searching all the inner parts of the heart.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Wine is a Mocker
26A wise king separates out the wicked and drives the threshing wheel over them. 27The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching out his inmost being. 28Loving devotion and faithfulness preserve a king; by these he maintains his throne.…

Cross References
1 Corinthians 2:11
For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Proverbs 20:28
Loving devotion and faithfulness preserve a king; by these he maintains his throne.


Treasury of Scripture

The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

spirit

Genesis 2:7
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Job 32:8
But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

Romans 2:15
Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

candle or lamp

Proverbs 20:20
Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

searching

Proverbs 20:30
The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.

Hebrews 4:12,13
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart…

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Proverbs 20
1. Proper Living














(27) The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.--The spirit of man, breathed into him at first by the Creator (Genesis 2:7), and afterwards quickened and illumined by the Divine Spirit, is the "candle of the Lord," given to man as an inward light and guide.

Searching all the inward parts of the belly.--That is, of the inmost heart of man; testing all his thoughts, feelings, desires, by God's law, approving some, condemning others, according as they agree with it or not. The word "belly" is equivalent to "heart" or "soul" in Job 15:2; Job 15:15; Job 32:19. (Comp. John 7:38.) . . .

Verse 27. - The spirit of men is the candle (lamp) of the Lord. Neshamah, "spirit," or "breath," is the principle of life breathed into man by God himself (Genesis 2:7), distinguishing man from brutes - the conscious human soul. We may consider it as equivalent to what we Christians call conscience, with its twofold character of receiving light and illumination from God, and sitting as judge and arbiter of actions. It is named "the Lord's lamp," because this moral sense is a direct gift of God, and enables a man to see his real condition. Our Lord (Matthew 6:23) speaks of the light that is in man, and gives a solemn warning against the danger of letting it be darkened by neglect and sin; and St. Paul (1 Corinthians 2:11) argues, "Who among men knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of the man, which is in him?" As Elihu says (Job 32:8), "There is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding." And Aristotle speaks of practical wisdom (φρόνησις) combined with virtue as "the eye of the soul (ὄμμα τῆς ψυχῆς)." Searching all the inward parts of the belly; i.e. the very depths of the soul, probing thoughts, desires, affections, will, and approving or reproving, according as they are in conformity with or opposition to God's Law. We must remember that Eastern houses, before the introduction of glass, had very scanty openings to admit light, and lamps were necessary if for any purpose the interior had to be thoroughly illuminated. Hence the metaphor used above would strike an Oriental more forcibly than it strikes us. Septuagint, "The breath (πνοὴ, as Proverbs 11:13) of man is a light of the Lord, who searches the chambers of the belly." St. Gregory ('Moral.,' 12:64), "We ought to bear in mind that in holy Writ by the title of the 'belly,' or the 'womb,' the mind is used to be understood. For the light of grace, which comes from above, affords a 'breathway' to man unto life, which same light is said to 'search all the inward parts of the belly,' in that it penetrates all the secrets of the heart, that the things which were hidden in the soul touching itself it may bring back before the eyes thereof" (Oxford transl.).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The spirit
נִשְׁמַ֣ת (niš·maṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 5397: A puff, wind, angry, vital breath, divine inspiration, intellect, an animal

of a man
אָדָ֑ם (’ā·ḏām)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 120: Ruddy, a human being

[is] the lamp
נֵ֣ר (nêr)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5216: A lamp, light

of the LORD,
יְ֭הוָה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

searching out
חֹ֝פֵ֗שׂ (ḥō·p̄êś)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 2664: To seek, to conceal oneself, mask

his inmost being.
חַדְרֵי־ (ḥaḏ·rê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2315: A chamber, room


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man is Yahweh's lamp (Prov. Pro Pr)
Proverbs 20:26
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