Proverbs 12:6
in Proverbs 12The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The words of the wicked are of lying in wait for blood; But the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
KJV
The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
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This verse in Proverbs 12
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
The plans of the righteous are just
on Proverbs 12:5-7
“The plans of the righteous are just,” but “the counsel of the wicked leads to deceit,” so the contrast moves inward to the mind. The wicked “are overthrown and perish” with the finality Psalm 37 gives the wicked man's sudden end, but “the house of the righteous will stand”.
This site's exposition
lie in wait for blood
The wicked use words as an ambush set for blood, like the gang of Proverbs 1:11. Albert Barnes reads the second line as the upright rescuing themselves by their speech. Words can kill or save.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The words--or, "expressed designs" of the wicked are for evil purposes. the mouth--or, "words" of the righteous delivering instead of ensnaring men.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Shall deliver them - i. e., The righteous themselves.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דִּבְרֵ֣י | divrei | [the] words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| רְשָׁעִ֣ים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| אֱרָב־ | ʾerov- | [are] to lie in wait for | H693 → | 41 times |
| דָּ֑ם | dam | blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
| וּפִ֥י | ufi | and [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| יְ֝שָׁרִ֗ים | yesharim | upright [people] | H3477 → | 119 times |
| יַצִּילֵֽם׃ | yatzilem | it delivers them | H5337 → | 212 times |
דִּבְרֵ֣י[the] words of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
רְשָׁעִ֣יםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
אֱרָב־[are] to lie in wait for
ʾerov-H693 →41 times
דָּ֑םblood
damH1818 →360 times
וּפִ֥יand [the] mouth of
ufiH6310 →498 times
יְ֝שָׁרִ֗יםupright [people]
yesharimH3477 →119 times
יַצִּילֵֽם׃it delivers them
yatzilemH5337 →212 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
Acts 23:12When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
it leads to
- Acts 23:30
When I was informed that there was a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also instructed his accusers to present their case against him before you.
- Isaiah 8:9–10
Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!
- Acts 23:21
Do not let them persuade you, because more than forty men are waiting to ambush him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him; they…
- Acts 23:14
They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.
- Psalms 31:13
For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side. They conspire against me and plot to take my life.
- Acts 23:30
Through
Jeremiah 5:26For among My people are wicked men; they watch like fowlers lying in wait; they set a trap to catch men.
it leads to
- Proverbs 1:11
If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,
- Psalms 64:5
They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say.
- Proverbs 1:11
Through
Isaiah 59:7Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
it leads to
- Romans 3:15–17
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
- Romans 3:15–17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Proverbs

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
