Proverbs 21:29
NKJV- "A wicked man hardens his face, but {as for} the upright, he establishes his way.”
The word that the NKJV translates here as “establishes” is translated in the KJV as “he directeth”. The “he” is not capitalized so it is referring to the man himself as opposed to God. These two words are the two Hebrew words #995 & #3559- “biyn” & “kuwn”.
“Biyn” means to understand, to teach, to discern or to consider diligently
“Kuwn” means to be faithful, to be stable, to be prepared
Due to the extensive definitions of this idea, I do not think the NKJV nor the KJV was able to correctly convey the meaning of this verse with their word choices. Therefore, let us use the definitions to amplify the verse for understanding:
“A wicked man hardens his face, but the upright considers diligently his way to understand it and discern it so that he may teach himself to be faithful, to be stable, and to be prepared."
The Jerusalem Bible gives us a very clear and unique perspective of this verse:
“The wicked man assumes an air of confidence; the honest man give his own conduct careful thought.”
I very much appreciate the Jerusalem Bible’s translation of Proverbs 21:29 because it gives me the ability to first examine my own life and determine whether I am acting like the wicked or the upright and honest; and second because it allows me to judge with righteous judgement, the intents of others to determine whether or not they themselves are honest and upright without spending too much time. There are several verses in the scriptures that are “locators” for ourselves and those around us, that if we will adopt their principles we will enable ourselves to divide between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow, and to discern the thoughts and the intents of the heart using the Word of God quickly and powerfully.
When determining our path, it is no doubt expedient for us to understand ourselves in terms of world view, irritations, emotional responses and so on. When we know how we are likely to respond to a stimulus, we must determine if the response is in alignment with God’s will. If it is, then we must choose to employ that response in every similar situation. If it is not, we must repent, and humble ourselves before the Lord whilst seeking His direction and attitude adjustment. Then we employ the attitude {and thereby the response} that God created us and desires us to have. This is being honest with ourselves and it will enable us the strength of character to be honest with the world at large. It is a predetermined choice that we will make to respond in a Godly manner and thus, we are required to ponder our emotions, our reactions, our world view.
To be sure, those who harden their faces, harden their hearts. They present themselves as being confident that every decision they make or reaction they have is the right one. This is not what they usually believe, however. In these situations, those people are generally very insecure and fearful. Their pride is what drives them and thus they are resisted by God according to His law.
"God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
The very thing that the wicked need is the grace of God, but they cannot bear the thought that they need assistance from anyone let alone a God they cannot see! To need, to them is weakness and therefore not in their vocabulary. I was once in this category of human. I was saved at the time, but my actions did not reflect a belief that God was my Lord and the director of my path. I arrogantly believed that I knew better than God and so in turmoil I trudged through life until I found myself begging God for miracle after miracle to deliver me from the mire I had made for myself. I have since humbled myself before the Lord and He has lifted me up out of the mess so that I live in a constant state of blessing where the need for miracles is usually for someone else that I have the opportunity to pray for and minister to. It is much better not to need a miracle because you are consistently and entirely blessed!
Therefore let every thought of your heart, every step of your feet, every word of your mouth be predetermined by the dictates set forth in the Word of God that you may represent Him by word and deed, in precept and concept to the World as the loving Father that He is!
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