Proverbs 15:3

The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
eyes	עֵינֵ֣י 'ei.Nei	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine dual construct
LORD	יְהוָ֑ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
place	מָ֭קוֹם Ma.kom	H4725	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
beholding	צֹ֝פ֗וֹת tzo.Fot	H6822	properly · verb, qal active participle, feminine plural absolute
evil	רָעִ֥ים ra.'Im	H7451	bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral) · adjective, masculine plural absolute
good	וטוֹבִֽים v.to.Vim	H2896	good (as an adjective) in the widest sense · conjunction + adjective, masculine plural absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Hebrews 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have…
Jeremiah 16:17 For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.
Jeremiah 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towa…
Proverbs 5:21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
Job 31:4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?
Job 34:21-22 For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.
Jeremiah 32:19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways,…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 15:3

The great truths of divinity are of great use to enforce the precepts of morality, and none more than this - That the eye of God is always upon the children of men. 1. An eye to discern all, not only from which nothing can be concealed, but by which every thing is actually inspected, and nothing overlooked or looked slightly upon: The eyes of the Lord are in every place; for he not only sees all from on high (Psa 33:13), but he is every where present. Angels are full of eyes (Rev 4:8), but God is all eye. It denotes not only his omniscience, that he sees all, but his universal providence, that he upholds and governs all. Secret sins, services, and sorrows, are under his eye. 2. An eye to dis…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 15:3

beholding--watching (compare Pro 5:21; Psa 66:7).

John Gill on Proverbs 15:3

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,.... Which are expressive of his omniscience, of the full, clear, distinct, and perfect knowledge, which he has of all creatures and things; so that nothing is hid from him, but all open and manifest to him; as they are to Christ the essential Word, Hebrews 4:13; and also of the providence of God with respect to all persons in general, and to his own people in particular; and as he is infinite and immense, omnipresent and in all places of the world, so his omniscience and providence reach everywhere, to places most distant and secret, and to persons in them, who cannot be concealed from him, since he fills heaven and earth, Jeremiah 23:23; beholding t…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 15:1-6

We take these verses together as forming a group which begins with a proverb regarding the good and evil which flows from the tongue, and closes with a proverb regarding the treasure in which blessing is found, and that in which no blessing is found. Pro 15:1 1 A soft answer turneth away wrath, And a bitter word stirreth up anger. In the second line, the common word for anger (אף, from the breathing with the nostrils, Pro 14:17) is purposely placed, but in the first, that which denotes anger in the highest degree (חמה from יחם, cogn. חמם, Arab. hamiya, to glow, like שׁנה from ישׁן): a mild, gentle word turns away the heat of anger (excandescentiam), puts it back, cf. Pro 25:15. The Dagesh in…

The Church Fathers

We believe God is everywhere, and his eye beholds the good and wicked wherever they are: so we ought to be particularly assured of his special presence when we assist at the divine office. Therefore we must always remember the advice of the prophet, "To serve God in fear," "to sing wisely" and that "the angels are witnesses of what we sing." Let us then reflect what behavior is proper for appearing in the presence of God and the angels, and so sing our psalms that the mind may echo in harmony with the voice.
— Benedict of Nursia, RULE OF ST. BENEDICT 19

"In every place the eyes of the Lord behold the good and the evil." And when we are gathered together with the brethren in one place and celebrate divine sacrifices with a priest of God, we ought to be mindful of modesty and discipline and not toss our prayers about at random with uncouth voices and not cast forth with turbulent loquaciousness our petition. Rather, our petition should be commended to God in modesty, because it is our heart, not our voice, that will be heard. God, who sees our thoughts, is not to be admonished by shouts, as the Lord proves when he says, "Why do you think vainly in your hearts?" And in another place, "And all the churches shall know that I am a searcher of the desires and the heart."
— Cyprian, Treatise IV. On the Lord's Prayer 4

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 15:3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 15:3

John Gill on Proverbs 15:3

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 15:1-6

The Church Fathers

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 15:3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 15:3

John Gill on Proverbs 15:3

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 15:1-6

The Church Fathers

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 15:3