Verse (Click for Chapter) 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. Contemporary English Version Our inner thoughts are a lamp from the LORD, and they search our hearts. 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. Majority Standard Bible The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching out his inmost being. NET Bible The human spirit is like the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts. 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. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionThe breath of man [is] a lamp of YHWH, "" Searching all the inner parts of the heart. Young's Literal Translation The breath of man is a lamp of Jehovah, Searching all the inner parts of the heart. Smith's Literal Translation The light of Jehovah is the breath of man, searching all the chambers of the belly. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleThe spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, which searcheth all the hidden things of the bowels. Catholic Public Domain Version The spirit of a man is a lamp to the Lord, which investigates all the secrets of the inner self. New American Bible A lamp from the LORD is human life-breath; it searches through the inmost being. New Revised Standard Version The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD, searching every inmost part. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleThe soul of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the heart. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated The soul of the children of men is the lamp of LORD JEHOVAH, and it searches all the inner rooms of the belly. OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inward parts. Brenton Septuagint Translation The spirit of man is a light of the Lord, who searches the inmost parts of the belly. 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 Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. Psalm 18:28 For You, O LORD, light my lamp; my God lights up my darkness. Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. / See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting. Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD. Isaiah 26:9 My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. Isaiah 29:24 Then the wayward in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will accept instruction.” Jeremiah 17:10 I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve. Zechariah 12:1 This is the burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man within him: Matthew 6:22-23 The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. / But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Luke 11:34-36 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body is full of darkness. / Be careful, then, that the light within you is not darkness. / So if your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, you will be radiant, as though a lamp were shining on you.” John 1:4-5 In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. / The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 3:19-21 And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. / Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. / But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what he has done has been accomplished in God.” John 8:12 Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.” Romans 8:16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 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… Jump to Previous Belly Body Breath Candle Deepest Heart Inmost Inner Innermost Inward Keeps Lamp Parts Searches Searching Spirit WatchJump to Next Belly Body Breath Candle Deepest Heart Inmost Inner Innermost Inward Keeps Lamp Parts Searches Searching Spirit WatchProverbs 20 1. Proper LivingThe spirit of a man The Hebrew word for "spirit" here is "ruach," which can mean breath, wind, or spirit. In the context of this verse, it refers to the immaterial part of a person, the inner life that reflects the image of God. This spirit is not merely a human attribute but a divine gift, indicating that every person has an inherent connection to God. The "spirit of a man" suggests a personal, introspective capacity that allows individuals to engage with God and understand His will. It is a reminder that our spiritual essence is designed to be in communion with the Creator, serving as a conduit for divine wisdom and guidance. is the lamp of the LORD searching out his inmost being 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 spiritנִשְׁמַ֣ת (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 Links Proverbs 20:27 NIVProverbs 20:27 NLT Proverbs 20:27 ESV Proverbs 20:27 NASB Proverbs 20:27 KJV Proverbs 20:27 BibleApps.com Proverbs 20:27 Biblia Paralela Proverbs 20:27 Chinese Bible Proverbs 20:27 French Bible Proverbs 20:27 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man is Yahweh's lamp (Prov. 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