Proverbs 17:4
in Proverbs 17A wicked man listens to evil lips; a liar gives ear to a destructive tongue.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
An evil-doer giveth heed to wicked lips; And a liar giveth ear to a mischievous tongue.
KJV
A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.
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This verse in Proverbs 17
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The two clauses describe two phases of the mutual affinities of evil. The evil-doer delights in lies, the liar in bad words.
This site's exposition
A wicked doer giveth heed
on Proverbs 17:4-5
A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips names an appetite, not an accident: the ear that welcomes a lying tongue reveals the heart that owns it. Mocking the poor reaches past the poor man to his Maker, since poverty is providence's assignment rather than a verdict on worth, and gladness at another's calamity draws its own punishment. Gill reads the pairing as one proverb about contempt, aimed downward at the poor and outward at the fallen alike.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A wicked doer giveth heed - An evil heart is disposed and ever ready to receive evil; and liars delight in lies.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מֵ֭רַע | mera' | an evil-doer | H7489 → | 107 times |
| מַקְשִׁ֣יב | makshiv | [is] paying attention | H7181 → | 46 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שְׂפַת־ | sefat- | a lip of | H8193 → | 176 times |
| אָ֑וֶן | ʾaven | wickedness | H205 → | 77 times |
| שֶׁ֥קֶר | sheker | deception | H8267 → | 113 times |
| מֵ֝זִין | mezin | [is] giving ear | H238 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לְשׁ֥וֹן | leshon | a tongue of | H3956 → | 117 times |
| הַוֹּֽת׃ | havot | destruction<s> | H1942 → | 16 times |
מֵ֭רַעan evil-doer
mera'H7489 →107 times
מַקְשִׁ֣יב[is] paying attention
makshivH7181 →46 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
שְׂפַת־a lip of
sefat-H8193 →176 times
אָ֑וֶןwickedness
ʾavenH205 →77 times
שֶׁ֥קֶרdeception
shekerH8267 →113 times
מֵ֝זִין[is] giving ear
mezinH238 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
לְשׁ֥וֹןa tongue of
leshonH3956 →117 times
הַוֹּֽת׃destruction<s>
havotH1942 →16 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 28:4Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.
it leads to
- Romans 1:32
Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.
- Ephesians 5:11
Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
- Matthew 14:4
because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
- Matthew 3:7
But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
- Romans 1:32
Through
1 John 4:5They are of the world. That is why they speak from the world’s perspective, and the world listens to them.
it leads to
- John 8:23
Then He told them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
- 2 Peter 2:2–3
Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed.
- John 17:14
I have given them Your word and the world has hated them; for they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
- John 8:23
Through
Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
it leads to
- Ezekiel 13:6
They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.
- Ezekiel 13:6
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.