Proverbs 10:32
in Proverbs 10The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked is perverse.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable; But the mouth of the wicked speaketh perverseness.
KJV
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.
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This verse in Proverbs 10
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe lips of the righteous know what is acceptable - And what they believe to be most pleasing and most profitable, that they speak, but the wicked man knows as well what is perverse, and that he speaketh forth. As the love of God is not in his heart, so the law of kindness is not on his lips.
This site's exposition
Like vinegar to the teeth
on Proverbs 10:26-32
The closing set returns to the comparison: the slacker is “Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,” irritation in place of help. The couplets that follow, from “The righteous will never be shaken” to “a perverse tongue will be cut out,” gather the argument into one rhythm.
This site's exposition
The lips of the righteous know what is fitting
The righteous man knows what will please and help his hearer, and he speaks that. Adam Clarke says the wicked man knows just as well what is perverse and speaks it, having no law of kindness on his lips. Each mouth speaks what it knows.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Know - i. e., “Know, and therefore utter.” So, in like manner, the “mouth of the wicked” knows, and therefore speaks frowardness, and that only.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שִׂפְתֵ֣י | siftei | [the] lips of | H8193 → | 176 times |
| צַ֭דִּיק | tzadik | [the] righteous | H6662 → | 206 times |
| יֵדְע֣וּן | yedeun | they know ! | H3045 → | 945 times |
| רָצ֑וֹן | ratzon | pleasure | H7522 → | 56 times |
| וּפִ֥י | ufi | and [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| תַּהְפֻּכֽוֹת׃ | tahpukhot | perversities | H8419 → | 10 times |
שִׂפְתֵ֣י[the] lips of
sifteiH8193 →176 times
צַ֭דִּיק[the] righteous
tzadikH6662 →206 times
יֵדְע֣וּןthey know !
yedeunH3045 →945 times
רָצ֑וֹןpleasure
ratzonH7522 →56 times
וּפִ֥יand [the] mouth of
ufiH6310 →498 times
רְ֝שָׁעִ֗יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
תַּהְפֻּכֽוֹת׃perversities
tahpukhotH8419 →10 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 12:18Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
it leads to
- Proverbs 16:24
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
- Proverbs 15:4
A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.
- James 3:6–8
The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 10:20–21
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked has little worth.
- Psalms 57:4
My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts— with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
- Proverbs 16:24
Through
Proverbs 15:28The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and…
- 1 Peter 3:15
Through
Proverbs 12:6The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.
it leads to
- Proverbs 14:3
The proud speech of a fool brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them.
- Proverbs 14:3
Through
Proverbs 11:11By the blessing of the upright a city is built up, but by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.
it leads to
- Proverbs 14:34
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.
- Proverbs 14:34
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); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.