How does Proverbs 16:5 define being "detestable to the LORD"?

The Text

“Everyone with a proud heart is detestable to the LORD; be assured that he will not go unpunished.” (Proverbs 16:5)

---

Key Word: Proud Heart

• “Proud” translates a Hebrew term conveying loftiness, arrogance, self-exaltation.

• “Heart” in Scripture points to the inner core—thoughts, motives, desires.

→ A “proud heart” is an inward posture of elevating self above God and others.

---

How Pride Makes a Person Detestable

• Pride usurps God’s glory (Isaiah 42:8).

• Pride rejects dependence on the Lord (Jeremiah 17:5).

• Pride spawns other sins—lying, oppression, violence (Proverbs 21:4; Psalm 10:2-4).

• Pride hardens a person against conviction and repentance (Romans 2:5).

Therefore, the proud heart provokes God’s holy disgust—it is “detestable to the LORD.”

---

Certainty of Judgment

• “Be assured” underscores divine resolve; no proud person “will go unpunished.”

• God “opposes the proud” (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).

• Examples:

– Tower of Babel—human arrogance scattered (Genesis 11:1-9).

– Nebuchadnezzar—king humbled to eat grass (Daniel 4:28-37).

– Herod—struck down when he accepted worship (Acts 12:21-23).

---

Contrast with Humility

• “He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble” (Proverbs 3:34).

• Jesus epitomized humility (Philippians 2:5-11).

• God promises exaltation to the lowly (Luke 14:11).

---

Living the Passage

• Examine motives—ask whether achievements or talents feed self-glory.

• Acknowledge God in every success (Proverbs 3:5-6).

• Serve others intentionally; pride shrinks when love expands (Galatians 5:13).

• Embrace regular repentance—confessing pride as sin assures cleansing (1 John 1:9).