“The plans of the mind belong to man”: “Plans of the mind” is literally “plans of the heart,” in which “heart” is the center of thought and intellectual activity. “Plans” translates a different word than used in 6.18; 12.20; and 15.22. In this verse “plans of the mind” are best taken as decisions to undertake certain actions based upon thought or reflection. For a similar thought see 15.28a. “Belong to man” contrasts with “from the Lord” in the next line; the sense is that people decide what they want to do.

“But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord“: “Tongue” refers to the words a person speaks, but the interpretation of this saying as a whole rests largely upon the meaning given to “the answer of the tongue”. There are two main views expressed: (1) Man makes plans, but God “has the final word,” that is, God determines the final outcome. This is the thought expressed in verse 33. This position is taken by Bible en français courant “Men make projects, but it is the Lord who has the final word.” :(2) “Plans” and “mind” in the first line are closely linked with “answer” and “tongue” in the second, so that it is man who both “plans” and “answers”; that is, man plans what he wants to say, but God determines for him the right words. Revised English Bible expresses this view with “A mortal may order his thoughts, but the Lord inspires the words his tongue utters.” Scott has “A man plans what he will say, but his tongue utters what the Lord wills.” Note that the Good News Translation footnote follows this interpretation. Good News Translation may serve as a model translation following the first view. Those translators using notes may include a note similar to that in Good News Translation.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .