A just weight and balance are the LORD'S: all the weights of the bag are his work.

PROVERBS 16:11KJV
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Proverbs 16:11 (KJV)

What does Proverbs 16:11 mean?

Proverbs 16:11 teaches that honest measurements and fair dealings are established by the LORD, and all the tools used for weighing and measuring rightly belong to Him. This verse emphasizes that true justice in business and daily life comes from God’s standard, not human invention.

King Solomon, speaking to his people, points out that fairness in trade—using just weights and balances—reflects God’s own concern for honesty. In ancient times, merchants used physical weights and scales to measure goods, and this proverb reminds everyone that God cares about integrity in even the smallest transactions.

The Hebrew behind Proverbs 16:11

  • "just" (מִשְׁפָּט, mishpat): This word often means "justice" or "judgment," highlighting that fairness in weights is not just a business practice but a matter of right and wrong before God.
  • "weight" (פֶּלֶס, peles): Refers to a standard for measuring, making clear that the actual tools for fairness are under God’s authority.
  • "balance" (מֹאזְנַיִם, moznayim): This is the word for scales, the device used to weigh goods, showing that even the instruments of trade are part of God’s concern for justice.
  • "weights" (אֶבֶן, even): Literally means "stone," since stones were used as weights, underlining that every part of the process is God’s work.
  • "bag" (כִּיס, kis): The bag merchants carried their weights in, showing that God’s standard extends to the tools people carry and use in daily life.
  • "work" (מַעֲשֶׂה, ma'aseh): Means "work" or "deed," stressing that the making and using of these weights is overseen by God.

Why Proverbs 16:11 matters

  • Proverbs 16:11 clears up the idea that honesty in business is just a human agreement; it shows that God Himself sets the standard for fairness.
  • The verse highlights that every detail of daily life, even the tools people use for trade, matters to God and is under His authority.
  • This proverb connects to the wider biblical theme that justice and righteousness are not just religious ideas but practical expectations for how people treat each other.

Where else these words appear

“weight” Hebrew H6425 · used in 2 verses

  • Isaiah 40:12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

“bag” Hebrew H3599 · used in 6 verses

  • Deuteronomy 25:13 Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small.
  • Proverbs 1:14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
  • Isaiah 46:6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.

“balance” Hebrew H3976 · used in 15 verses

  • Leviticus 19:36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.
  • Proverbs 11:1 A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
  • Ezekiel 5:1 And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.