Amplified Bible
Proverbs 16:27
27A worthless man devises and digs up evil, And the words on his lips are like a scorching fire.
Proverbs 16:27 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.
- New International Version (NIV)A scoundrel plots evil, and on their lips it is like a scorching fire.
- English Standard Version (ESV)A worthless man plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.
- New King James Version (NKJV)An ungodly man digs up evil, And it is on his lips like a burning fire.
Context of Proverbs 16:27
25There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, But its end is the way of death. 26The appetite of a worker works for him, For his hunger urges him on. A worthless man devises and digs up evil, And the words on his lips are like a scorching fire. 28A perverse man spreads strife, And one who gossips separates intimate friends. 29A violent and exceedingly covetous man entices his neighbor [to sin], And leads him in a way that is not good.
Read all of Proverbs 16Proverbs 16:27 word by word
אִ֣ישׁ בְּ֭לִיַּעַל כֹּרֶ֣ה רָעָ֑ה וְעַל־שְׂ֝פָת֗וֹ כְּאֵ֣שׁ צָרָֽבֶת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 16:27
- 1 Samuel 25:17Now then, know this and consider what you should do, for evil is [already] planned against our master and against all his household; but he is such a worthless and wicked man that one cannot speak [reasonably] to him.”
- 2 Samuel 20:1There happened to be there a worthless and wicked man named Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. He blew a trumpet [to call Israel to revolt] and said, “We have no portion in David And no inheritance in the son of Jesse, Every man to his tents, O Israel!”
- Proverbs 2:4If you seek skillful and godly wisdom as you would silver And search for her as you would hidden treasures;
- Psalms 17:14From men with Your hand, O Lord, From men of the world [these moths of the night] whose portion [of enjoyment] is in this life—idle and vain, And whose belly You fill with Your treasure; They are satisfied with children, And they leave what they have left [of wealth] to their children.
- Isaiah 5:18Woe (judgment is coming) to those who drag along wickedness with cords of falsehood, And sin as if with cart ropes [towing their own punishment];
- Habakkuk 2:13Is it not indeed from the Lord of hosts That peoples labor [only] for the fire [that will destroy their work], And nations grow weary for nothing [that is, things which have no lasting value]?
- Psalms 52:2Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
- Psalms 57:4My life is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe out fire— The sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.
- James 3:6And the tongue is [in a sense] a fire, the very world of injustice and unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our members as that which contaminates the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life [the cycle of man’s existence], and is itself set on fire by hell (Gehenna).
Commentaries on Proverbs 16:27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27An 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.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27-30Verses 27-30 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 Psalm 7:15. Proverbs 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…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 27-28Verses 27-28 Ungodly men bestow more pains to do mischief than would be needful to do good. The whisperer separates friends: what a hateful, but how common a character!Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 27-29Scoundrels, troublemakers, and violent people disrupt relationships by causing harm with their actions.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2727. ungodly man--(Compare Pr 6:12). diggeth up evil--labors for it. in his lips ... fire--His words are calumniating (Jas 3:6).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 16:27
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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