Proverbs 25:3

The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
heaven	שָׁמַ֣יִם sha.Ma.yim	H8064	the sky (as aloft · noun, common masculine plural absolute
height	לָ֭רוּם La.rum	H7312	(literally) elevation or (figuratively) elation · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
earth	וָאָ֣רֶץ va.'A.retz	H776	the earth (at large · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular absolute
depth	לָעֹ֑מֶק la.'O.mek	H6011	depth · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
heart	וְלֵ֥ב ve.Lev	H3820	the heart · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
kings	מְ֝לָכִ֗ים me.la.Khim	H4428	a king · noun, common masculine plural absolute
unsearchable	חֵֽקֶר Che.ker	H2714	examination · noun, common masculine singular 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

Psalms 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
1 Kings 4:29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.
Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 7:11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
Romans 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise…

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 25:2-3

Here is, 1. An instance given of the honour of God: It is his glory to conceal a matter. He needs not search into any thing, for he perfectly knows every thing by a clear and certain view, and nothing can be hidden from him; and yet his own way is in the sea and his path in the great waters. There is an unfathomable depth in his counsels, Rom 11:33. It is but a little portion that is heard of him. Clouds and darkness are round about him. We see what he does, but we know not the reasons. Some refer it to the sins of men; it is his glory to pardon sin, which is covering it, not remembering it, not mentioning it; his forbearance, which he exercises towards sinners, is likewise his honour, in wh…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 25:3

Ye wisely keeping state secrets, which to common men are as inaccessible heights and depths.

John Gill on Proverbs 25:3

The heaven for height, and the earth for depth,.... These are eminent for what are ascribed to them; nothing is higher than the heavens, nor anything deeper than the earth; the height of the heavens cannot be reached, and the centre of the earth cannot easily be got unto; the heavens above cannot be measured, and the foundation of the earth cannot be searched beneath; at least not by common persons, whatever may be done in their way by astronomers and geometricians. And thus, as the heavens and the earth are immeasurable, Jeremiah 31:37; so the heart of kings is unsearchable; especially such an one as Solomon was, who had largeness of heart as the sand on the seashore: and this must be unde…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 25:3

3 The heavens in height, and the earth in depth, And the heart of kings are unsearchable. This is a proverb in the priamel-form, vid., p. 13. The praeambulum consists of three subjects to which the predicate אין חקר [= no searching out] is common. "As it is impossible to search through the heavens and through the earth, so it is also impossible to search the hearts of common men (like the earth), and the hearts of kings (like the heavens)" (Fleischer). The meaning, however, is simple. Three unsearchable things are placed together: the heavens, with reference to their height, stretching into the impenetrable distance; the earth, in respect to its depth, reaching down into the immeasurable aby…

The Church Fathers

Heaven above, and earth below, etc. Just as the height of heaven and the depth of the earth cannot be comprehended by men, so the knowledge of the prophets and apostles, who, by the Spirit revealing, knew the secrets of divinity, transcends the capacity of our frailty.
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

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

Dictionary and topics

Rulers · CHARACTER AND QUALIFI — CHARACTER AND QUALIFI

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Proverbs 25:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 25:2-3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 25:3

John Gill on Proverbs 25:3

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 25:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 25:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 25:2-3

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 25:3

John Gill on Proverbs 25:3

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 25:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 25:2-3

Rashi on Proverbs 25:3