Proverbs 16:27
in Proverbs 16A worthless man digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A worthless man deviseth mischief; And in his lips there is as a scorching fire.
KJV
An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.
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This verse in Proverbs 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The four verses speak of the same thing, and the well-known opprobrious name, the “man of Belial,” stands at the head as stigmatizing the man who delights in causing the mischief of which they treat. Diggeth up evil - i. e., Digs an evil pit for others to fall into. Compare Psa 7:15. Pro 16:30 The physiognomy of the man of Belial, the half-closed eyes that never look you straight in the face, the restlessness or cunning of which biting the lips is the surest indication. Compare Pro 6:13.
This site's exposition
A worker’s appetite works for him
on Proverbs 16:26-27
“A worker’s appetite works for him because his hunger drives him onward,” a plain observation about the honest motive behind ordinary labor. “A worthless man digs up evil” from the same drive, “and his speech is like a scorching fire” that burns whoever stands near it.
This site's exposition
A worthless man digs up evil
Albert Barnes names the worthless man as the man of Belial, a name that heads verses 27 to 30 as one portrait. He digs an evil pit for others to fall into, Barnes explains, comparing Psalm 7:15. His speech burns like a scorching fire.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
The wicked man digs up evil, etc. And the prophet says, They have labored to commit iniquity (Jeremiah IX). It can also specifically be understood about the heretic, who breaks up the most beautiful and flourishing fields of divine utterances with the harmful ploughshare of …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
An ungodly man diggeth up evil,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
An ungodly man diggeth up evil - How will the following suit? Effodiuntur opes irritamenta malorum “Wealth, the incitement to all evil, is digged up out the earth.” A wicked man labors as much to bring about an evil purpose, as the quarryman does to dig up stones. In his lips - a burning fire - His words are as inflammable, in producing strife and contention among his neighbors, as fire is in igniting dry stubble.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a person of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| בְּ֭לִיַּעַל | beliyaal | worthlessness | H1100 → | 27 times |
| כֹּרֶ֣ה | koreh | [is] digging up | H3738 → | |
| רָעָ֑ה | raah | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and [is] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שְׂ֝פָת֗וֹ | sefatav | lip his | H8193 → | 176 times |
| כְּאֵ֣שׁ | keesh | like a fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| צָרָֽבֶת׃ | tzaravet | scorching | H6867 → |
אִ֣ישׁa person of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
בְּ֭לִיַּעַלworthlessness
beliyaalH1100 →27 times
כֹּרֶ֣ה[is] digging up
korehH3738 →
רָעָ֑הevil
raahH7451 →662 times
וְעַל־and [is] on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
שְׂ֝פָת֗וֹlip his
sefatavH8193 →176 times
כְּאֵ֣שׁlike a fire
keeshH784 →378 times
צָרָֽבֶת׃scorching
tzaravetH6867 →
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
James 3:6The 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…
it leads to
- Psalms 120:2–3
Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips and a deceitful tongue.
- Mark 7:15
Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”
- Matthew 15:11–20
A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
- Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
- Mark 7:20–22
He continued: “What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him.
- Psalms 120:2–3
Through
Proverbs 6:12A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth,
it leads to
- Matthew 12:34
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- Proverbs 4:24
Put away deception from your mouth; keep your lips from perverse speech.
- 1 Timothy 5:13
At the same time they will also learn to be idle, going from house to house and being not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, discussing things they should not mention.
- Matthew 12:34
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
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); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.