Proverbs 6:12
in Proverbs 6A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A worthless person, a man of iniquity, Is he that walketh with a perverse mouth;
KJV
A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
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This verse in Proverbs 6
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe third and worst mode of breaking a vow occurs through apostatic rebellion, as when a man apostatizes from religious life. The first mode of breaking a vow is evil, the second worse, the third worst, because it is said: "An apostate man is a …
This site's exposition
walks with a perverse mouth
on Proverbs 6:12-15
The worthless person is described by his body: “winking his eyes, speaking with his feet, and pointing with his fingers,” signals that deceive. His end matches his method, for calamity comes “suddenly” on the man of hidden signals, and “in an instant he will be shattered beyond recovery”.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
An apostate man, a useless man walks with a perverse mouth, etc. He spoke of heresies and other kinds of vices; he had instructed a teacher, aroused the sluggard, but now he reproves the schismatic. Where it should be noted that he who wished to …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A naughty person, a wicked man,.... Or, "a man of Belial, a man of iniquity" (w). The former signifies an unprofitable man, a man good for nothing, that is of no use to God or man; or one that is lawless, that has thrown off the yoke of the law, and will not be subject to it; Belial is the name of the devil; and here it may design such as are his children, and will do his lusts: the latter phrase signifies one that is wholly given up to work wickedness.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A naughty person - אדם בליעל adam beliyal, “Adam good for nothing.” When he lost his innocence. A man apostata; Old MS. Bible. A wicked man - איש און ish aven. He soon became a general transgressor after having departed from his God. All his posterity, unless restored by Divine grace, are men of Belial, and sinners by trade; and most of them, in one form or other, answer the character here given. They yield their members instruments of unrighteousness unto sin.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
A naughty person--literally, "A man of Belial," or of worthlessness, that is, for good, and so depraved, or wicked (compare 1Sa 25:25; Idleness and vice are allied. Though indolent in acts, he actively and habitually (walketh) is ill-natured in speech (Pr 4:24).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A naughty person - literally, “a man of Belial,” i. e., a worthless man (see the Deu 13:13 note). This is the portrait of the man who is not to be trusted, whose look and gestures warn against him all who can observe. His speech is tortuous and crafty; his wink tells the accomplice that the victim is already snared; his gestures with foot and hand are half in deceit, and half in mockery.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And your poverty shall come like a fast walker If you do this [keep sleeping], your loss and the thing from which you are impoverished shall come to you immediately, like a man walking fast, and your want will come and fill up
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָדָ֣ם | ʾadam | a person of | H120 → | 551 times |
| בְּ֭לִיַּעַל | beliyaal | worthlessness | H1100 → | 27 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a person of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אָ֑וֶן | ʾaven | wickedness | H205 → | 77 times |
| ה֝וֹלֵ֗ךְ | holekh | [is] walking | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| עִקְּשׁ֥וּת | ʾikeshut | crookedness of | H6143 → | |
| פֶּֽה׃ | peh | mouth | H6310 → | 498 times |
אָדָ֣םa person of
ʾadamH120 →551 times
בְּ֭לִיַּעַלworthlessness
beliyaalH1100 →27 times
אִ֣ישׁa person of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אָ֑וֶןwickedness
ʾavenH205 →77 times
ה֝וֹלֵ֗ךְ[is] walking
holekhH1980 →1546 times
עִקְּשׁ֥וּתcrookedness of
ʾikeshutH6143 →
פֶּֽה׃mouth
pehH6310 →498 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
Matthew 12:34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
it leads to
- Luke 6:45
The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow…
- Matthew 15:18
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
- Ephesians 4:29
Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.
- 1 Samuel 24:13
As the old proverb says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand will never be against you.
- James 3:5–8
In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.
- Luke 6:45
Through
Proverbs 4:24Put away deception from your mouth; keep your lips from perverse speech.
it leads to
- James 1:26
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.
- Proverbs 8:8
All the words of my mouth are righteous; none are crooked or perverse.
- James 1:26
Through
Psalms 59:7See what they spew from their mouths— sharp words from their lips: “For who can hear us?”
it leads to
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 57:4
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); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Bonaventure, Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 3; 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.