Proverbs 20:5 · Bible study
Proverbs 20:5 Commentary: Drawing Out Hidden Counsel
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Proverbs 20:5 compares the heart's counsel to deep water. Learn how a person of understanding draws it out through wise inquiry.
Research Summary
- Meaning: A person's true purposes are often hidden, but a wise person can bring them to light through careful, skillful inquiry.
- Key words: עֵצָה (counsel/purpose), עָמֹק (deep/mysterious), דָּלָה (to draw water with a bucket), תְּבוּנָה (understanding/discernment).
- Main debate: Usually none; all major commentaries agree the verse describes the wise person’s ability to access hidden thoughts through appropriate means.
- Theological theme: Wisdom as the God-given capacity to know others rightly, leading to better relationships and just leadership.
- Best use: Teaching on communication, discernment, leadership, pastoral counseling, and the value of patient inquiry.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.
KJV King James Version 1769
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Counsel in the heart of man islikedeep water; But a man of understanding will draw it out.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Counsel in the heart of a man is deep water, And a man of understanding draweth it up.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Counsel in the heart of man is deep water, and a man of understanding draweth it out.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water: but a wise man will draw it out.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Como aguas profundas es el consejo en el corazón del hombre: mas el hombre entendido lo alcanzará.
O conselho no coração do homem é como águas profundas; mas o homem prudente consegue tirá-lo para fora.
Les desseins dans le cœur de l’homme sont des eaux profondes,
Der Rat im Herzen eines Mannes ist wie tiefe Wasser; aber ein Verständiger kann's merken, was er meint.
De raad in het hart eens mans is als diepe wateren; maar een man van verstand zal dien uithalen.
I disegni nel cuor dell’uomo sono acque profonde, ma l’uomo intelligente saprà attingervi.
Rada w sercu męża jest jako woda głęboka: jednak mąż rozumny naczerpnie jej.
Помыслы в сердце человека - глубокие воды, но человек разумный вычерпывает их.
人 心 懷藏謀略，好像深 水，惟明哲 人 才能汲引出來。
The purpose in the heart of a man is like deep water, but a man of good sense will get it out.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Proverbs 20:5
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree on the basic picture. The word for counsel (עֵצָה, etsah) points to a plan or purpose; the adjective deep (עָמֹק, amoq) carries a sense of mystery and inaccessibility. The verb translated 'will draw it out' is יִדְלֶנָּה (yidlenah) from דָּלָה (dalah), literally drawing water from a well with a bucket (Exodus 2:16). Matthew Henry pictures 'pumping' people to extract what is inside them; Keil & Delitzsch speak of penetrating 'to the bottom of the deep water.' Barnes notes that the wise man has skill enough to draw up even the last drop, every question turning the windlass. Adam Clarke describes eliciting wisdom by questions 'framed for the purpose.' The shared conviction is that human purposes can be hidden, but the person who possesses תְּבוּנָה (tevunah, understanding) does not settle for surface words. He knows how to inquire, listen and discern. This is not manipulation but the gift of wise perception, a skill the proverb holds up as a mark of mature character.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The proverb teaches that hidden personal purposes can be accessed through wisdom, wisdom that involves patient and skillful inquiry.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Whether 'counsel' refers to good or bad purposes | The word <em>etsah</em> is neutral and can apply to either. Commentators agree the verse is about hiddenness itself, not the moral quality of what is hidden. | Gill treats it as applying to both wicked schemes and the wisdom of studious men. Lange emphasises that the wise person discerns harmful purposes in order to counteract them. Others, like Matthew Henry, focus on drawing out valuable wisdom from the reserved. |
| The method of 'drawing out' | All describe it as gentle, skillful questioning, like turning a windlass or pumping a well. It is not coercion or manipulation. | Barnes and Clarke stress the difficulty: the well is deep, and the wise must labor. Keil & Delitzsch emphasise the penetrating power of discernment that sees through falsehood. No one advocates for intrusive tactics. |
| Whether the wise person is a leader or any individual | The Hebrew 'man of understanding' (<em>ish tevunah</em>) is a general category applicable to anyone with the gift of discernment. | Some apply it specifically to kings and judges (Lange, Keil & Delitzsch) due to the surrounding verses about royal judgment; others see it as a universal wisdom principle for everyday relationships. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Proverbs 20:5 belongs to the Solomonic collection, a body of sayings designed to train young men in the royal court and ordinary life in ancient Israel. Wells were central to daily existence; drawing water was laborious but essential. The metaphor would have been instantly vivid: just as a bucket is lowered into a dark well to bring up life-giving water, so a wise person goes beneath surface talk to retrieve what is valuable in another.
The surrounding verses reinforce this theme of discernment. Verse 6 laments that 'many men claim to be men of unfailing love, but who can find a faithful man?', admitting that outward claims are unreliable. Verse 9 asks, 'Who can say, “I have made my heart pure”?', acknowledging the hiddenness of the inner life even from oneself. The proverb sits in a cluster about honesty, kingship and integrity (vv. 1, 9), suggesting that the skill of drawing out counsel was especially needed in royal service, where concealed plots could harm the state. Keil & Delitzsch apply the verse to the subtle statesman, the general who reads an opponent, and even the interpreter of a text like the book of Job, a poem whose meaning 'lies like a pearl at the bottom of deep water.'
Israelite wisdom literature regularly connects hiddenness with God; Proverbs 25:2 says 'It is the glory of God to conceal a thing.' Here, the concealing is human, but the uncovering requires the God-given gift of understanding. The proverb thus calls for humility: we cannot know another’s heart without effort, and that effort itself is a form of wisdom.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Proverbs 20:5. The Masoretic Text is stable across manuscripts, and the ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Vulgate) represent the same sense. The verb form יִדְלֶנָּה appears only here with the feminine singular suffix referring to etsah; the form is grammatically standard.
Reception History
Jewish and Christian readers have long valued this verse as a guide to understanding others. In rabbinic interpretation, the 'deep water' sometimes symbolized the hidden teaching of the Torah, which the wise draw out through study. Early Christian commentators, building on 1 Corinthians 2:11, applied the proverb to the Holy Spirit, who alone knows the deep things of God and reveals them to believers. Reformation-era expositors such as Matthew Henry and Adam Clarke brought the metaphor into practical pastoral use: how to gently draw wisdom from a reluctant friend or parishioner. In the modern era, Proverbs 20:5 has been cited in discussions of counseling, emotional intelligence, and leadership, always affirming that real knowledge of another person requires patient, respectful inquiry.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Hiddenness is part of the human condition. A person's real purposes are often like deep water, not easily seen. This is not necessarily deception; it can be modesty, caution, or complexity (Gill, Henry).
- Wisdom goes beyond surface talk. The man of understanding does not merely hear words; he draws out meaning. The Hebrew verb dalah pictures the labour of drawing water, patient, persistent, skillful.
- Skillful inquiry is a gift to the community. Drawing out good counsel benefits everyone. A leader, counselor, friend or teacher who asks the right questions unearths treasure.
Five-point outline
- The metaphor: deep water. Water is pure and life-giving but hidden. So are a person's true thoughts and plans (Proverbs 18:4).
- The hidden thing: counsel. Etsah covers plans, advice, purposes, good or bad. The deep water is morally neutral; the quality depends on what is drawn.
- The challenge: the well is deep. Some people are reserved, secretive, or simply slow to speak. Adam Clarke says 'men of the deepest minds are rarely apt to join discourse unsolicited.'
- The skill: tevunah (understanding). This is not raw intelligence but seasoned discernment, the ability to frame the right question and read character.
- The action: drawing out. Barnes compares each question to turning the windlass. The wise do not force or pry; they create space for the water to come.
Illustration hooks
- A mechanic listens to an engine noise and knows by the tone which part is failing. The noise is obvious to everyone, but only the trained ear draws out the diagnosis.
- A grandmother asks a family member not 'How are you?' but 'What was the best part of your week?', a simple change that brings a deeper story to the surface.
- In a church business meeting, one person proposes an idea that seems half-formed. A wise chair asks a few careful questions, and suddenly a thoughtful plan emerges that everyone can support.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How do I get people who are naturally reserved to open up about what they really think?
- Does this verse mean I should try to 'figure out' everyone’s motives? Where does that become unhealthy?
- How does this relate to asking God for wisdom when I need to discern a situation?
Leading a Discussion
This proverb draws a picture of the inner life as deep water, hidden but accessible to the person with understanding. In a world of quick judgments and surface conversation, it calls us to the patient, respectful work of drawing out what matters. As you discuss, consider how your group can grow in the gift of helping others be known.
Discussion questions
- Read Proverbs 20:5 slowly in two or three translations. What word or image strikes you most?
- The Hebrew word etsah can mean counsel, plan, or purpose. Why might the writer use this word rather than simply 'thoughts' or 'feelings'?
- Compare with Proverbs 18:4 and Psalm 64:6. How do these cross-references deepen the metaphor of water?
- In what settings have you seen someone 'draw out' wisdom from another person? What made that exchange work?
- The proverb says the man of understanding 'will draw it out', not 'might' or 'could'. Is this a promise, a description, or a call to develop a skill?
- How does this verse balance the need for discernment with the danger of prying into matters that are private?
- What would change in your friendships, your parenting or your leadership if you took this proverb seriously this week?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Psalms 64:6 | They plot injustice, saying, “We have made a perfect plan!” Surely man’s mind and heart are cunning. |
| Proverbs 18:4 | The words of a man’s mouth are like deep waters. The fountain of wisdom is like a flowing brook. |
| I Corinthians 2:11 | For who among men knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except God’s Spirit. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
A wise person asks questions to bring out good advice that exists inside another person. This helps draw out the useful thoughts already present.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes describes the contest between a person who holds back information and another who persists in asking. Like drawing water from a deep well, a wise questioner can extract every last drop of knowledge. Each question, he says, is like another turn of the windlass.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges notes that wisdom is drawn forth just like water from a well (as the Queen of Sheba did). This shows that true wisdom comes from a source outside oneself.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva annotators highlight how hidden a person's true intentions and wisdom can be, comparing them to deep waters that are not easily seen. A person with true understanding has the skill to draw out that counsel, making what is concealed accessible for wise guidance.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill explains that the secret thoughts and plans in a person's heart are like deep water: hidden and hard to reach. A person of understanding, however, knows how to draw this hidden wisdom out, just as one draws water from a deep well.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson Fausset Brown notes that counsel is like water which stays hidden deep down. The wise person can see what is concealed. This gives them the ability to understand hidden truths.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch pictures a person's hidden purpose as deep, still water that is deliberately kept secret. The person of understanding possesses the discernment to penetrate that depth, uncovering the real motive and aim behind another's conduct. This skill belongs not only to statesmen but also to historians and interpreters who seek the hidden meaning.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues that verse 9 denies the possibility of achieving complete moral perfection in this life. It is not about maintaining original purity from birth, but about the impossibility of fully conquering all sin and reaching a state of perfect holiness before death.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry draws two practical insights from the image of deep water. First, a wise person can carefully draw out even the most hidden plans and intentions of others. Second, some wise people are reserved and need to be gently questioned before their valuable counsel will come forth.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley reads "counsel" as significant designs or plans, and "deep water" as something secret and hard to uncover. His point highlights the hidden, difficult-to-penetrate nature of such plans, comparing them to depths that resist easy discovery.