Amsal 15:11

15:11 Death and Destruction ¹  are before the Lord –

how much more ²  the hearts of humans! ³ 

Amsal 21:2

21:2 All of a person’s ways seem right in his own opinion, ⁴ 

but the Lord evaluates ⁵  the motives. ⁶ 

Amsal 24:12

24:12 If you say, “But we did not know about this,”

does not the one who evaluates ⁷  hearts consider?

Does not the one who guards your life know?

Will he not repay each person according to his deeds? ⁸ 

[15:11]  ¹ tn Heb “Sheol and Abaddon” (שְׁאוֹל וַאֲבַדּוֹן (shÿ’ol va’adon); so ASV, NASB, NRSV; cf. KJV “Hell and destruction”; NAB “the nether world and the abyss.” These terms represent the remote underworld and all the mighty powers that reside there (e.g., Prov 27:20; Job 26:6; Ps 139:8; Amos 9:2; Rev 9:11). The Lord knows everything about this remote region.

[15:11]  ² tn The construction אַף כִּי (’af ki, “how much more!”) introduces an argument from the lesser to the greater: If all this is open before the Lord, how much more so human hearts. “Hearts” here is a metonymy of subject, meaning the motives and thoughts (cf. NCV “the thoughts of the living”).

[15:11]  ³ tn Heb “the hearts of the sons of man,” although here “sons of man” simply means “men” or “human beings.”

[21:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “in his own eyes.” The term “eyes” is a metonymy for estimation, opinion, evaluation.

[21:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “weighs” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “examines”; NCV, TEV “judges.”

[21:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “the hearts.” The term לֵב (lev, “heart”) is used as a metonymy of association for thoughts and motives (BDB 660-61 s.v. 6-7). Even though people think they know themselves, the Lord evaluates motives as well (e.g., Prov 16:2).

[24:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “weighs” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV) meaning “tests” or “evaluates.”

[24:12]  ⁸ sn The verse completes the saying by affirming that people will be judged responsible for helping those in mortal danger. The verse uses a series of rhetorical questions to affirm that God knows our hearts and we cannot plead ignorance.