"God works in mysterious ways" meaning in English

See God works in mysterious ways in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-God works in mysterious ways.wav [Southern-England] Forms: the Lord works in mysterious ways [alternative]
Etymology: Possibly originating from a poem by William Cowper (floruit 1731–1800), whose first stanza reads: God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform; / He plants His footsteps in the sea / And rides upon the storm. Despite the late attestation, the general sentiment of the phrase does hold apparent wide-ranging and prehistoric theological currency. Head templates: {{en-head|proverb|head=~work􂀿s􂁀; way􂀿s􂁀}} God works in mysterious ways
  1. Expressing confidence that a conundrum has a solution despite it not being apparent. Synonyms: everything happens for a reason
    Sense id: en-God_works_in_mysterious_ways-en-proverb-G9IP9YnR Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English sentences, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 21 41 38 Disambiguation of English sentences: 16 44 40 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 23 37 40 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 24 36 41
  2. Commenting on a situation that has led to some unexpected outcome in a surprising or convoluted way.
    Sense id: en-God_works_in_mysterious_ways-en-proverb-wDl62GNh Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English sentences, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 21 41 38 Disambiguation of English sentences: 16 44 40 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 23 37 40 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 24 36 41
  3. Commenting that a seemingly unfortunate or unfavourable situation or change may be beneficial later or in the long run. Synonyms: every cloud has a silver lining, everything happens for a reason Translations (an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later): لِلّٰهِ فِي خَلْقِهِ شُؤُونٌ (lillāhi fī ḵalqihi šuʔūnun) (Arabic), sən saydığını say, gör fələk nə sayır (Azerbaijani), Allahın işini bilmək olmaz (Azerbaijani), 神用奧秘行動前來 /神用奥秘行动前来 (shényòng àomì xíngdòng qiánlái) (Chinese Mandarin), Herrens veje er uransagelige (Danish), Gods wegen zijn ondoorgrondelijk (Dutch), tutkimattomat ovat Herran tiet (Finnish), les voies de Dieu sont impénétrables (French), les voies du Seigneur sont impénétrables (French), die Wege des Herrn sind unergründlich (German), Gottes Wege sind unergründlich (German), άγνωστοι αι βουλαί του Κυρίου (ágnostoi ai voulaí tou Kyríou) (Greek), ईश्वर रहस्यमयी तरीकों से काम करता है (īśvar rahasyamyī tarīkõ se kām kartā hai) (Hindi), ईश्वर की माया कहीं धूप कहीं छाया (īśvar kī māyā kahī̃ dhūp kahī̃ chāyā) (Hindi), Isten útjai kifürkészhetetlenek (Hungarian), vegir drottinns eru órannskakanlegir (Icelandic), Tuhan bekerja dengan cara misterius (Indonesian), le vie del Signore sono imperscrutabili (Italian), 神は独特で奇妙なやり方をする (kami wa dokutoku de kimyō na yarikata o suru) (Japanese), 새옹지마 (sae'ongjima) (alt: 塞翁之馬) (Korean), Herrens veier er uransakelige (Norwegian Bokmål), niezbadane są wyroki Boskie (Polish), Deus escreve certo por linhas tortas (Portuguese), пути́ госпо́дни неисповеди́мы (putí gospódni neispovedímy) (Russian), čudni su putevi Božji (Serbo-Croatian), los caminos del Señor son inescrutables (Spanish), Guds vägar äro outgrundliga (Swedish), outgrundliga äro Herrens vägar (Swedish), Mevla'nın işine akıl sır ermez (Turkish)
    Sense id: en-God_works_in_mysterious_ways-en-proverb-X5fJ2z9e Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English proverbs, English sentences, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Arabic translations, Terms with Azerbaijani translations, Terms with Danish translations, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Greek translations, Terms with Hindi translations, Terms with Hungarian translations, Terms with Icelandic translations, Terms with Indonesian translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Japanese translations, Terms with Korean translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Turkish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 21 41 38 Disambiguation of English proverbs: 31 17 52 Disambiguation of English sentences: 16 44 40 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 30 22 48 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 23 37 40 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 24 36 41 Disambiguation of Terms with Arabic translations: 30 28 42 Disambiguation of Terms with Azerbaijani translations: 29 27 45 Disambiguation of Terms with Danish translations: 29 21 49 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 27 28 44 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 30 24 46 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 27 29 44 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 30 24 46 Disambiguation of Terms with Greek translations: 27 31 43 Disambiguation of Terms with Hindi translations: 29 28 44 Disambiguation of Terms with Hungarian translations: 28 29 43 Disambiguation of Terms with Icelandic translations: 29 27 44 Disambiguation of Terms with Indonesian translations: 29 27 45 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 29 27 44 Disambiguation of Terms with Japanese translations: 29 27 44 Disambiguation of Terms with Korean translations: 29 27 44 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 26 31 42 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations: 28 27 45 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 29 27 45 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 30 28 43 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 30 24 46 Disambiguation of Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations: 29 27 45 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 29 26 45 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 29 27 44 Disambiguation of Terms with Turkish translations: 29 27 44 Disambiguation of 'an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later': 3 32 64
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: blessing in disguise

Alternative forms

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        "Commenting that a seemingly unfortunate or unfavourable situation or change may be beneficial later or in the long run."
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          "word": "every cloud has a silver lining"
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        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "lang_code": "ar",
          "roman": "lillāhi fī ḵalqihi šuʔūnun",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "لِلّٰهِ فِي خَلْقِهِ شُؤُونٌ"
        },
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          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "az",
          "lang": "Azerbaijani",
          "lang_code": "az",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "sən saydığını say, gör fələk nə sayır"
        },
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          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "az",
          "lang": "Azerbaijani",
          "lang_code": "az",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "Allahın işini bilmək olmaz"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "lang_code": "cmn",
          "roman": "shényòng àomì xíngdòng qiánlái",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "神用奧秘行動前來 /神用奥秘行动前来"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "lang_code": "da",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "Herrens veje er uransagelige"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "lang_code": "nl",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "Gods wegen zijn ondoorgrondelijk"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "tutkimattomat ovat Herran tiet"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "les voies de Dieu sont impénétrables"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "les voies du Seigneur sont impénétrables"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "die Wege des Herrn sind unergründlich"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "Gottes Wege sind unergründlich"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "lang_code": "el",
          "roman": "ágnostoi ai voulaí tou Kyríou",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "άγνωστοι αι βουλαί του Κυρίου"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "lang_code": "hi",
          "roman": "īśvar rahasyamyī tarīkõ se kām kartā hai",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "ईश्वर रहस्यमयी तरीकों से काम करता है"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "lang_code": "hi",
          "roman": "īśvar kī māyā kahī̃ dhūp kahī̃ chāyā",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "ईश्वर की माया कहीं धूप कहीं छाया"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "lang_code": "hu",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "Isten útjai kifürkészhetetlenek"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "lang_code": "is",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "vegir drottinns eru órannskakanlegir"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "id",
          "lang": "Indonesian",
          "lang_code": "id",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "Tuhan bekerja dengan cara misterius"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "lang_code": "it",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "le vie del Signore sono imperscrutabili"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "lang_code": "ja",
          "roman": "kami wa dokutoku de kimyō na yarikata o suru",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "神は独特で奇妙なやり方をする"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "alt": "塞翁之馬",
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "lang_code": "ko",
          "roman": "sae'ongjima",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "새옹지마"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "lang_code": "nb",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "Herrens veier er uransakelige"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "lang_code": "pl",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "niezbadane są wyroki Boskie"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "lang_code": "pt",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "Deus escreve certo por linhas tortas"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "lang_code": "ru",
          "roman": "putí gospódni neispovedímy",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "пути́ госпо́дни неисповеди́мы"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "lang_code": "sh",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "čudni su putevi Božji"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "lang_code": "es",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "los caminos del Señor son inescrutables"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "lang_code": "sv",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "Guds vägar äro outgrundliga"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "lang_code": "sv",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "outgrundliga äro Herrens vägar"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "3 32 64",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "lang_code": "tr",
          "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
          "word": "Mevla'nın işine akıl sır ermez"
        }
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  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "William Cowper"
  ],
  "word": "God works in mysterious ways"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English proverbs",
    "English sentences",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Arabic translations",
    "Terms with Azerbaijani translations",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Hindi translations",
    "Terms with Hungarian translations",
    "Terms with Icelandic translations",
    "Terms with Indonesian translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Japanese translations",
    "Terms with Korean translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Terms with Turkish translations"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Possibly originating from a poem by William Cowper (floruit 1731–1800), whose first stanza reads: God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform; / He plants His footsteps in the sea / And rides upon the storm.\nDespite the late attestation, the general sentiment of the phrase does hold apparent wide-ranging and prehistoric theological currency.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "the Lord works in mysterious ways",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "proverb",
        "head": "~work􂀿s􂁀; way􂀿s􂁀"
      },
      "expansion": "God works in mysterious ways",
      "name": "en-head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "blessing in disguise"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Expressing confidence that a conundrum has a solution despite it not being apparent."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "confidence",
          "confidence#English"
        ],
        [
          "conundrum",
          "conundrum#English"
        ],
        [
          "apparent",
          "apparent#English"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "everything happens for a reason"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Commenting on a situation that has led to some unexpected outcome in a surprising or convoluted way."
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              75,
              103
            ]
          ],
          "text": "Person A: It seems that I'm about to be fired from my job.\nPerson B: Well, God works in mysterious ways — maybe it'll be the kick you need to apply to university...",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Commenting that a seemingly unfortunate or unfavourable situation or change may be beneficial later or in the long run."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "unfortunate",
          "unfortunate#English"
        ],
        [
          "unfavourable",
          "unfavourable#English"
        ],
        [
          "beneficial",
          "beneficial#English"
        ],
        [
          "in the long run",
          "in the long run#English"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "every cloud has a silver lining"
        },
        {
          "word": "everything happens for a reason"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-God works in mysterious ways.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/77/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-God_works_in_mysterious_ways.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-God_works_in_mysterious_ways.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/77/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-God_works_in_mysterious_ways.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-God_works_in_mysterious_ways.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "lang_code": "ar",
      "roman": "lillāhi fī ḵalqihi šuʔūnun",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "لِلّٰهِ فِي خَلْقِهِ شُؤُونٌ"
    },
    {
      "code": "az",
      "lang": "Azerbaijani",
      "lang_code": "az",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "sən saydığını say, gör fələk nə sayır"
    },
    {
      "code": "az",
      "lang": "Azerbaijani",
      "lang_code": "az",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "Allahın işini bilmək olmaz"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "roman": "shényòng àomì xíngdòng qiánlái",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "神用奧秘行動前來 /神用奥秘行动前来"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "lang_code": "da",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "Herrens veje er uransagelige"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "Gods wegen zijn ondoorgrondelijk"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "tutkimattomat ovat Herran tiet"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "les voies de Dieu sont impénétrables"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "les voies du Seigneur sont impénétrables"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "die Wege des Herrn sind unergründlich"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "Gottes Wege sind unergründlich"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "lang_code": "el",
      "roman": "ágnostoi ai voulaí tou Kyríou",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "άγνωστοι αι βουλαί του Κυρίου"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "lang_code": "hi",
      "roman": "īśvar rahasyamyī tarīkõ se kām kartā hai",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "ईश्वर रहस्यमयी तरीकों से काम करता है"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "lang_code": "hi",
      "roman": "īśvar kī māyā kahī̃ dhūp kahī̃ chāyā",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "ईश्वर की माया कहीं धूप कहीं छाया"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "lang_code": "hu",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "Isten útjai kifürkészhetetlenek"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "lang_code": "is",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "vegir drottinns eru órannskakanlegir"
    },
    {
      "code": "id",
      "lang": "Indonesian",
      "lang_code": "id",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "Tuhan bekerja dengan cara misterius"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "le vie del Signore sono imperscrutabili"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "roman": "kami wa dokutoku de kimyō na yarikata o suru",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "神は独特で奇妙なやり方をする"
    },
    {
      "alt": "塞翁之馬",
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "lang_code": "ko",
      "roman": "sae'ongjima",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "새옹지마"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "lang_code": "nb",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "Herrens veier er uransakelige"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "niezbadane są wyroki Boskie"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "Deus escreve certo por linhas tortas"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "roman": "putí gospódni neispovedímy",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "пути́ госпо́дни неисповеди́мы"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "lang_code": "sh",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "čudni su putevi Božji"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "los caminos del Señor son inescrutables"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "lang_code": "sv",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "Guds vägar äro outgrundliga"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "lang_code": "sv",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "outgrundliga äro Herrens vägar"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "lang_code": "tr",
      "sense": "an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later",
      "word": "Mevla'nın işine akıl sır ermez"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "William Cowper"
  ],
  "word": "God works in mysterious ways"
}

Download raw JSONL data for God works in mysterious ways meaning in English (8.6kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-09-09 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-09-02 using wiktextract (ccec6f1 and 4deed51). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.