Proverbs 20:10

My Notes

What Does Proverbs 20:10 Mean?

"Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the LORD." The Hebrew is emphatic through repetition: 'a stone and a stone, an ephah and an ephah' — two different weights, two different measures, used selectively to cheat. The merchant uses one weight when buying (heavier, to get more) and another when selling (lighter, to give less). Both sets of dishonest tools are abomination to God.

The phrase "both of them are alike abomination" (to'avat YHWH gam shneyhem — abomination of the LORD, also both of them) means God finds BOTH forms equally detestable: the cheating in buying AND the cheating in selling. Neither direction of dishonesty is less offensive than the other. The abomination is the double standard itself — having two standards when only one is honest.

The word "abomination" (to'evah) is the strongest term of divine disgust in the Old Testament — the same word used for idolatry and sexual perversion. Dishonest weights are in the same category as the most grievous sins. God finds commercial dishonesty as detestable as idol worship.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Do you have different standards for different situations — and is that a form of 'divers weights'?
• 2.What does dishonest commerce being called 'abomination' (same word as idolatry) teach about God's priorities?
• 3.Where in your life do you use one standard when receiving and another when giving?
• 4.How does the double standard — not just the individual dishonesty — constitute the abomination?

Devotional

A stone and a stone. An ephah and an ephah. Two weights where there should be one. Two measures where there should be one. The double standard — one for buying, another for selling — is ABOMINATION to God. Not just wrong. Abomination. The same word used for idolatry.

The 'divers weights' are the ancient version of every modern double standard: the merchant who uses a heavier weight when buying (getting more product for less money) and a lighter weight when selling (giving less product for more money) is running two systems — one that benefits him when he receives and another that benefits him when he gives. Both are rigged. Both are dishonest. Both are abomination.

The 'both of them are alike' means God doesn't distinguish between different KINDS of dishonesty: cheating when you buy is as abominable as cheating when you sell. The direction of the dishonesty doesn't matter. The double standard itself is the abomination. Any system designed to give you an unfair advantage — in either direction — is equally detestable to God.

The word 'abomination' places commercial dishonesty alongside idolatry in God's disgust: the same term. The same category. The merchant who uses different weights for different transactions is as offensive to God as the worshiper who bows to a false god. The marketplace dishonesty isn't a minor sin. It's in the same category as the worst ones.

Do you have 'divers weights' — different standards for different situations, different people, different transactions?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

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