Proverbs 16:27

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 that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. 26A worker’s appetite works for him because his hunger drives him onward. A worthless man digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire. 28A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends. 29A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him down a path that is not good.

Proverbs 16:27 word by word

אִ֣ישׁ בְּ֭לִיַּעַל כֹּרֶ֣ה רָעָ֑ה וְעַל־שְׂ֝פָת֗וֹ כְּאֵ֣שׁ צָרָֽבֶת׃Read the interlinear

• A worthlessבְּלִיַּ֫עַלbelîya‛al · Belial: worthlessH1100
• manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• digs upכָּרָהkârâh · to pierceH3738
• evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
• and his speechעַל‛al · uponH5921
• and his speechשָׂפָהώâphâh ώepheth · lip: wordsH8193
• is like a scorchingצָרָבtsârebeth · burningH6867
• fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784

Cross-references for Proverbs 16:27

• 1 Samuel 25:17Now consider carefully what you must do, because disaster looms over our master and all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that nobody can speak to him!”
• 2 Samuel 20:1Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!”
• Proverbs 2:4if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure,
• Psalms 17:14from such men, O LORD, by Your hand— from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.
• Isaiah 5:18Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,
• Habakkuk 2:13Is it not indeed from the LORD of Hosts that the labor of the people only feeds the fire, and the nations weary themselves in vain?
• Psalms 52:2Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.
• Psalms 57:4My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts— with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
• 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 fire by hell.

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

• Character
• Speaking

In the dictionaries

• Chief
• Divine
• Haughty
• Lot
• Pride
• Whisperer
• Fire
• Proverb
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Slander

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