16:1

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

1a
The plans of the heart belong to man,

1b but the reply of the tongue is from the LORD.

This proverb contrasts the human and divine roles in planning and giving a good answer. People plan what to say, but God is the one who directs the answer that the person actually gives.

16:1a

The plans of the heart belong to man: This line means that people arrange their thoughts or plan in their minds ⌊what they are going to say in response to a situation.⌋ The words in brackets are implied from the parallel “reply” in 16:1b. In some languages, it may make the contrast with 16:1b clearer if some of this information is made explicit. For example:

A person may plan in his mind/heart ⌊what he intends to say⌋

In some languages, it may be redundant to specify that people plan “in their minds” or “in their hearts.” If that is true in your language, you may leave this information implied. For example:

We humans make plans (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
We can make our own plans (New Living Translation (2004))

16:1b

but the reply of the tongue is from the LORD: The phrase the reply of the tongue refers to the reply made by the person who makes the plans in 16:1a. There are two ways to interpret this line:

(1) This line has a specific meaning. It means that the LORD directs or inspires the answer that a person gives to others. For example:

but the Lord inspires the words his tongue utters (Revised English Bible)

(2) This line has a more general meaning. It means that the LORD determines the outcome of any plan that a person makes. For example:

but the Lord has the final word (Contemporary English Version)

Most of the versions listed here have an expression that uses “word” or “answer.” But they occur in figurative expressions that usually refer to determining the final outcome. They do not necessarily refer to a verbal answer.

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars. In Proverbs, the tongue occurs many times as a figure of speech. It represents either words/speech or a person who speaks the words. There is no need to assign an unusual and more general meaning to the word here.

the reply of the tongue: This phrase is used here as a figure of speech. It represents the person who replies. In some languages, it is more natural to speak of a person who replies rather than a tongue that replies. For example:

but the LORD gives him the right answer

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