Proverbs 16:9 — Bible Verse Meaning & Context

Proverbs 16:9 reads: "A man’s heart plans his course, but Yahweh directs his steps." — from the Old Testament, Proverbs (Wisdom literature). The full verse is shown above with both the World English Bible (WEB) and King James Version (KJV) translations side by side.

Proverbs 16:9 is in the book of Proverbs, traditionally attributed to Solomon (primarily), Agur, Lemuel and written around c. 970–700 BC. Proverbs is wisdom literature in the Old Testament, originally addressed to Young men learning the wisdom of the covenant. Best known for "trust in the LORD with all your heart" (3:5-6).

Proverbs 16:9 is primarily a Bible verse about Faith. Within Proverbs, Proverbs offers practical, observable wisdom for living under God in the everyday world — speech, money, marriage, friendship, work, anger. Read the full passage above with surrounding context.

Proverbs 16:9 in the World English Bible (WEB) reads: "A man’s heart plans his course, but Yahweh directs his steps.". The King James Version (KJV) reads: "A man's120 heart3820 deviseth2803 his way1870: but the LORD3068 directeth3559 his steps6806.". The WEB is a modern public-domain translation that updates the KJV's 1611 English while keeping a similar formal-equivalence style. Both render the same underlying Greek or Hebrew text.

Proverbs 16:9 is 11 words in the WEB translation (61 characters), broken into 2 clauses. It is short and well-suited to memorisation. Estimated reading time is about 3 seconds.

To memorise Proverbs 16:9, split it into its 2 natural clauses and learn one at a time. Repeat the full verse out loud five times, then write it from memory. Saving the verse as a photo wallpaper using our verse image studio helps daily review — the visual association with a memorable background dramatically improves recall.

Proverbs offers practical, observable wisdom for living under God in the everyday world — speech, money, marriage, friendship, work, anger. Its core thesis is in 1:7: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge." Chapter 31 closes with the famous portrait of the wise woman whose worth is "far above rubies." Proverbs 16:9 sits within this larger story — Proverbs as a whole emphasises wisdom, fear of the LORD, speech.

Many readers use Proverbs 16:9 as a daily reminder verse — saving it as a phone wallpaper, sharing it on Pinterest, or memorising it for prayer. The verse studio on this page lets you download Proverbs 16:9 on 52 different backgrounds for free. Pair the verse with the surrounding chapter context shown above to understand its full meaning before applying it.