Proverbs 16:33

16:33 The dice are thrown into the lap,

but their every decision is from the Lord.

Proverbs 21:1

21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord like channels of water;

he turns it wherever he wants.


tn Heb “the lot is cast.” Because the ancient practice of “casting lots” is unfamiliar to many modern readers, the imagery has been updated to “throwing dice.”

tn Heb “all its decision.”

sn The point concerns seeking God’s will through the practice. The Lord gives guidance in decisions that are submitted to him.

sn “Heart” is a metonymy of subject; it signifies the ability to make decisions, if not the decisions themselves.

sn “Hand” in this passage is a personification; the word is frequently used idiomatically for “power,” and that is the sense intended here.

tn “Channels of water” (פַּלְגֵי, palge) is an adverbial accusative, functioning as a figure of comparison – “like channels of water.” Cf. NAB “Like a stream”; NIV “watercourse”; NRSV, NLT “a stream of water.”