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Proverbs 24:2

in Proverbs 24

for their hearts devise violence, and their lips declare trouble.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

For their heart studieth oppression, And their lips talk of mischief.

KJV

For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.

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This verse in Proverbs 24

Commentary

3 notes on this verse
For their heart studieth destruction,.... To others; to good men, that separate from them, and reprove them, or are in their way; or any ways hinder them in the prosecution of their wicked designs; as Haman's heart studied the destruction of the Jews: or their hearts study to draw men into their destructive methods of living, and therefore should be shunned and avoided.

This site's exposition

Be not thou envious against evil men

on Proverbs 24:1-2

Be not thou envious against evil men repeats a warning the collection returns to more than once, and this pairing gives the reason: their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief. Gill reads the envy warned against as wishing for their apparent ease or success rather than approving their acts, a temptation the plain man feels precisely because the wicked often look comfortable. The proverb answers desire with diagnosis, showing what actually occupies the heart the reader might otherwise envy.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

It is therefore thy wisdom to have nothing to do with them. Nor hast thou any reason to look upon them with envy, but with pity rather, or a just indignation at their wicked practices." 3 Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: 4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes

The words behind it

7 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • כִּי־for

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • שֹׁ֭דviolence

    shodH7701 →

  • יֶהְגֶּ֣הit plots

    yehgehH1897 →25 times

  • לִבָּ֑םheart their

    libamH3820 →595 times

  • וְ֝עָמָ֗לand trouble

    veamalH5999 →

  • שִׂפְתֵיהֶ֥םlips their

    sifteihemH8193 →176 times

  • תְּדַבֵּֽרְנָה׃they speak

    tedaberenahH1696 →1141 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Psalms 7:14Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.7 worksPsalms 28:3Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.6 worksPsalms 10:7His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; trouble and malice are under his tongue.6 worksIsaiah 59:4No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.5 worksRomans 2:6God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”5 worksJob 15:35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.”4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Samuel 23:9When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.”4 worksMatthew 26:3–4At that time the chief priests and elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,3 worksMicah 7:3Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.3 worksEsther 3:6–7And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.3 worksPsalms 36:4Even on his bed he plots wickedness; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he fails to reject evil.3 worksProverbs 6:14With deceit in his heart he devises evil; he continually sows discord.3 worksActs 13:10and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?3 worksPsalms 64:4–6ambushing the innocent in seclusion, shooting suddenly, without fear.2 worksLuke 23:20–21Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate addressed them again,2 worksPsalms 140:2who devise evil in their hearts and stir up war all day long.2 works1 Kings 20:7Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please take note and see that this man is looking for trouble, for when he demanded my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, I did not deny him.”2 worksProverbs 24:8He who plots evil will be called a schemer.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Psalms 7:14

    Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.

    it leads to

    • James 1:15

      Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

      Reached by 3 separate paths from here.

    • Job 15:35

      They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.”

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Isaiah 59:4–5

      No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Isaiah 33:11

      You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble. Your breath is a fire that will consume you.

  • Through

    Job 15:35

    They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.”

    it leads to

    • Psalms 7:14

      Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    Psalms 28:3

    Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 55:21

      His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.

    • Psalms 12:2

      They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

  • Through

    Isaiah 59:4

    No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

    it leads to

    • Micah 7:2–5

      The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.

About Proverbs

King Solomon in Old Age, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
King Solomon in Old Age, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Proverbs: the study guide →Read Proverbs 24 →

This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Proverbs 24 →