What Does Proverbs 16:20 Mean in the King James?
He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verse makes flourishing the fruit of two joined postures: discerning what is before you and finding security in the LORD.
THE MEANING
When you meet a matter with discernment, you can find good; when you trust in the LORD, your life has a secure ground from which to flourish. Wisdom and reliance belong in the same lived movement.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It dissolves the belief that trust requires you to abandon clear judgment: the verse sets discerning attention beside reliance on the LORD.
THE ROOT
בּוֹטֵחַ
bōṭēaḥ
GROWS FROM
בטח
To trust, feel secure, or rely upon.
“trusteth” in this verse is bōṭēaḥ. The word holds trusting and being secure together: trust means resting your reliance somewhere. Here, the LORD is that ground, and the flourishing that follows has a foundation.
ALSO GROWS
mivṭāḥ: Confidence, security, or refuge.
מִבְטָח
This branch makes trust concrete as a place of security and reliance.
beṭaḥ: Security; securely or in safety.
בֶּטַח
It shows the settled condition contained in the act of trusting.
אַשְׁרָיו
ʾašrāw
GROWS FROM
אשר
To go forward, advance, or prosper; also to be happy or flourishing.
The verse’s “happy” carries the sense of flourishing, a life moving forward rather than a passing mood. That flourishing follows trust in the LORD.
ALSO GROWS
ʾāšar: To go forward, advance, or prosper.
אָשַׁר
It gives flourishing a sense of movement and progress.
ʾašrê: Flourishing; happy or blessed.
אַשְׁרֵי
This related form names the flourishing state the verse attributes to the one who trusts.
מַשְׂכִּיל
maśkîl
GROWS FROM
שכל
To understand, act with insight, or deal prudently.
“handleth a matter wisely” in this verse is maśkîl. The word describes considered discernment in a matter, not mere contact with it. Its root family links understanding with practical action, so finding good begins with seeing clearly.
ALSO GROWS
śēḵel: Insight or understanding.
שֵׂכֶל
It reveals the perception beneath wise engagement with a matter.
hiśkîl: To understand, act prudently, or prosper.
הִשְׂכִּיל
It joins clear understanding to the practical outcome of finding good.
THE PATTERN
Trust placed in the LORD becomes a secure ground from which flourishing, hope, and steadiness grow.
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.THE THREAD
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.The verb translated “trust” in both verses is בָּטַח (bāṭaḥ, to trust or be secure). Proverbs 3:5 places that reliance in the LORD alongside the limits of self-understanding; Proverbs 16:20 shows the flourishing that follows.
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