Proverbs 19:3

A person’s folly ¹  subverts ²  his way, and ³  his heart rages ⁴  against the Lord.

A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD.

The foolishness of man ruins his way, And his heart rages against the LORD.

People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the LORD.

People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does GOD always get blamed?

By his foolish behaviour a man’s ways are turned upside down, and his heart is bitter against the Lord.

One’s own folly leads to ruin, yet the heart rages against the LORD.

The foolishness of a man twists his way, And his heart frets against the LORD.

A person’s folly ¹  subverts ²  his way, and ³  his heart rages ⁴  against the Lord.

¹ tn Heb “the folly of a man.”

² tn The verb סָלַף (salaf) normally means “to twist; to pervert; to overturn,” but in this context it means “to subvert” (BDB 701 s.v.); cf. ASV “subverteth.”

sn J. H. Greenstone comments: “Man’s own failures are the result of his own folly and should not be attributed to God” (Proverbs, 201).

³ tn The clause begins with vav on the nonverb phrase “against the Lord.” While clause structure and word order is less compelling in a book like Proverbs, this fits well as a circumstantial clause indicating concession.

⁴ sn The “heart raging” is a metonymy of cause (or adjunct); it represents the emotions that will lead to blaming God for the frustration. Genesis 42:28 offers a calmer illustration of this as the brothers ask what God was doing to them.