Proverbs 20:10

Proverbs 20:10, in plain English

Using dishonest weights and measures to cheat people in business — rigging the scales so you make more money unfairly — is detestable to God.

Why it's here

In the marketplace, a merchant with two sets of weights could cheat customers: one weight for buying grain from farmers at low prices, another for selling to consumers at high prices. It was common cheating, and people saw it as clever business. But Solomon says God hates it.

Who's speaking

Solomon, speaking for God's perspective on business practices and honesty.

Where it sits in the story

Scripture consistently cares about economic justice. From laws against exploitation in Leviticus to Jesus's anger at money-changers in the Temple, God connects worship and morality to how you treat people in everyday transactions.

The scholarly reading

Commercial dishonesty—using false weights and measures to defraud buyers—is abhorrent to God, who sees through every deception.

Language and setting

The verse directly addresses marketplace ethics: אֶבֶן וָאֶבֶן (even va-even—stone and stone, different weights) and אֵיפָה וְאֵיפָה (eipah v'eipah—measure and measure) refer to commercial standards. The practice of maintaining multiple sets of weights—heavy ones when buying, light ones when selling—was a perennial temptation in ancient commerce, and prophetic literature condemns it repeatedly (Amos 8:5-6, Micah 6:10-11). The proverb declares such dishonesty תּוֹעֲבַת־יְהוָה (to'avat YHWH—an abomination to the Lord), using the most forceful language of divine revulsion. This reflects the theological principle that commercial justice is not merely pragmatic but is constitutive of covenant faithfulness.

Voice

The wisdom teacher, grounding commercial ethics in theological conviction.

Significance

This proverb participates in the biblical insistence that economics cannot be separated from ethics or theology. Levitical law mandates just weights (Leviticus 19:35-36), and the prophets pillory commercial dishonesty as expressing contempt for God's reign (Amos 8:4-7). In the New Testament, this principle extends to the critique of the money-changers in the Temple (Matthew 21:12-13), where Jesus's righteous anger erupts against commercial fraud in sacred space. The ultimate implication: God cares about the ordinary transactions of ordinary people, and how we treat strangers and clients reflects our theological allegiances.

8A king who sits on a throne to judge sifts out all evil with his eyes.

9Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am cleansed from my sin”?

10Differing weights and unequal measures — both are detestable to the LORD.

11Even a young man is known by his actions— whether his conduct is pure and upright.

12Ears that hear and eyes that see— the LORD has made them both.

Read all of Proverbs 20 — Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler. Who can say, I have made my heart pure? Honest self-assessment is rare.