6424. palas
Lexical Summary
palas: To weigh, to make level, to ponder

Original Word: פָלַס
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: palac
Pronunciation: pah-LAHS
Phonetic Spelling: (paw-las')
KJV: make, ponder, weigh
NASB: level, leveled, make, ponder, watch, watches, weigh
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. (properly) to roll flat, i.e. prepare (a road)
2. also to revolve, i.e. weigh (mentally)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
make, ponder, weigh

A primitive root; properly, to roll flat, i.e. Prepare (a road); also to revolve, i.e. Weigh (mentally) -- make, ponder, weigh.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
denominative verb from peles
Definition
to weigh, make level
NASB Translation
level (1), leveled (1), make (1), ponder (1), watch (1), watches (1), weigh (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[מָּלַס] verb Pi`el denominative weigh, make level (Phoenician פלס Pi`el make level (?) in proper names); — Imperfect3masculine singular יְפַלֵּס Psalm 78:20; 2masculine plural תְּפַלֵּס֑וּן Psalm 58:3 (see below), etc.; Imperative masculine singular מַּלֵּס Proverbs 4:26; Participle מְפַלֵּס Proverbs 5:11; —

1 weign out חֲמַס יְדֵיכֶם תּפי Psalm 58:3 (figurative; but read perhaps תָמָס יְדֵיכֶם תְּפַלֵּסְנָה violence do your hands weigh out, so ᵐ5 ᵑ6 ᵑ7 Bae Kau We).

2 make level, smooth (compare Gerber32), with accusative of path (figurative), מַעְגָּל Proverbs 4:26; Proverbs 5:21; Isaiah 26:7, נָתִּיב Psalm 78:50, אֹרַח Proverbs 5:6.

Topical Lexicon
Concept and Imagery

The verb פָלַס (palas) carries the picture of deliberate measuring, leveling, or weighing. In Scripture it depicts a careful assessing of paths—whether literal roadways cleared for movement or metaphorical life-routes evaluated for their moral straightness. The term therefore ties together themes of preparation, examination, and moral equity.

Canonical Distribution

All six occurrences fall within poetry and wisdom literature, reinforcing the experiential and reflective nature of the word: two in Psalms (Psalm 58:2; Psalm 78:50), three in Proverbs (Proverbs 4:26; 5:6; 5:21), and one in Isaiah (Isaiah 26:7). Each context deepens a particular facet of divine or human assessment.

Divine Justice and Retribution (Psalms)

Psalm 58:2 rebukes rulers who “mete out violence on the earth.” Here palas exposes a counterfeit justice: human “weighing” that is corrupt. By contrast, Psalm 78:50 attributes true leveling to God: “He cleared a path for His anger.” The judged Egyptians discover that when God measures, His standard is inflexibly righteous. Together the verses reveal a God who both discerns wickedness and executes perfectly proportioned judgment.

Moral Discernment in Daily Life (Proverbs)

1. Proverbs 4:26 commands: “Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.” The reader is called to pre-measure decisions, smoothing out hazards before they trip him up.
2. Proverbs 5:6 warns that the adulterous woman “does not consider the path of life.” Her refusal to weigh consequences produces instability; unchecked passion skews moral balance.
3. Proverbs 5:21 adds the sobering counterpoint: “For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He examines all his paths.” Even when people fail to evaluate themselves, God continuously weighs them. The passage presses hearers toward integrity by reminding them of the divine Auditor.

Prophetic Hope and Eschatological Leveling (Isaiah 26:7)

“The path of the righteous is level; You clear a straight path for the upright.” Isaiah combines promise with exhortation. Whereas Proverbs highlights human responsibility to level one’s own course, Isaiah celebrates the Lord who engineers the highway of salvation for His faithful. The eschatological vision anticipates the fuller revelation in John the Baptist’s cry to “prepare the way for the Lord,” where ultimate leveling culminates in the advent of Messiah.

Historical Resonance

In the Ancient Near East, road construction symbolized royal authority and benevolence. Kings who could literally straighten paths proved their power to bring order. Israel’s poets and sages adapt this imagery, portraying Yahweh as the true King who grades spiritual terrain, and His people as subjects who must mirror His precision in their moral walk.

Ministry and Discipleship Applications

• Self-examination: Believers are urged to weigh motives and choices before acting, submitting plans to the searching gaze of the Lord (Proverbs 5:21; 1 Corinthians 11:31-32).
• Pastoral counsel: Those guiding others should help them “level” paths—identifying stumbling blocks, setting measurable goals, and cultivating accountability.
• Preaching justice: Psalm 58:2 invites prophetic denunciation of leaders who manipulate scales of justice, reminding hearers that divine measurement will expose every false balance.
• Hope in hardship: Isaiah 26:7 encourages saints that God is actively smoothing the route toward ultimate deliverance; present difficulties are not indications of neglect but steps in His precise engineering.

Christological Fulfillment

Jesus Christ embodies calibrated righteousness. In His earthly life He perfectly “weighed” every word and deed, fulfilling the wisdom ideal. At the cross God “cleared a path” for holy wrath against sin while simultaneously leveling access for repentant sinners (Hebrews 10:19-20). The doctrine of justification hinges on divine measurement—our sin imputed to Christ, His righteousness imputed to believers—demonstrating the richest expression of פָלַס.

Summary

פָלַס invites the reader to see life as a road that must be measured by God’s standard, straightened through obedient wisdom, and ultimately secured by the Lord Himself. Whether confronting injustice, counseling the wayward, or awaiting final redemption, the concept calls every generation to live carefully weighed lives before the One whose scales never err.

Forms and Transliterations
יְפַלֵּ֥ס יפלס מְפַלֵּֽס׃ מפלס׃ פַּ֭לֵּס פלס תְּפַלֵּ֑ס תְּפַלֵּֽסֽוּן׃ תְּפַלֵּֽס׃ תפלס תפלס׃ תפלסון׃ mə·p̄al·lês mefalLes məp̄allês pal·lês Palles pallês tə·p̄al·lê·sūn tə·p̄al·lês tefalLes tefalLeSun təp̄allês təp̄allêsūn yə·p̄al·lês yefalLes yəp̄allês
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Psalm 58:2
HEB: חֲמַ֥ס יְ֝דֵיכֶ֗ם תְּפַלֵּֽסֽוּן׃
NAS: On earth you weigh out the violence
KJV: wickedness; ye weigh the violence
INT: the violence of your hands weigh

Psalm 78:50
HEB: יְפַלֵּ֥ס נָתִ֗יב לְאַ֫פּ֥וֹ
NAS: He leveled a path for His anger;
KJV: He made a way to his anger;
INT: leveled A path his anger

Proverbs 4:26
HEB: פַּ֭לֵּס מַעְגַּ֣ל רַגְלֶ֑ךָ
NAS: Watch the path of your feet
KJV: Ponder the path of thy feet,
INT: Watch the path of your feet

Proverbs 5:6
HEB: חַ֭יִּים פֶּן־ תְּפַלֵּ֑ס נָע֥וּ מַ֝עְגְּלֹתֶ֗יהָ
NAS: She does not ponder the path of life;
KJV: Lest thou shouldest ponder the path
INT: of life does not ponder are unstable her ways

Proverbs 5:21
HEB: וְֽכָל־ מַעְגְּלֹתָ֥יו מְפַלֵּֽס׃
NAS: of the LORD, And He watches all
KJV: of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
INT: all his paths watches

Isaiah 26:7
HEB: מַעְגַּ֥ל צַדִּ֖יק תְּפַלֵּֽס׃
NAS: O Upright One, make the path
KJV: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path
INT: the path of the righteous make

6 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 6424
6 Occurrences


mə·p̄al·lês — 1 Occ.
pal·lês — 1 Occ.
tə·p̄al·lês — 2 Occ.
tə·p̄al·lê·sūn — 1 Occ.
yə·p̄al·lês — 1 Occ.

6423
Top of Page
Top of Page