Christian Standard Bible
Proverbs 16:27
27A worthless person digs up evil, and his speech is 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 that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death. 26A worker’s appetite works for him because his hunger urges him on. A worthless person digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire. 28A contrary person spreads conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. 29A violent person lures his neighbor, leading him on a path 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 consider carefully what you should do, because there is certain to be trouble for our master and his entire family. He is such a worthless fool nobody can talk to him!”
- 2 Samuel 20:1Now a wicked man, a Benjaminite named Sheba son of Bichri, happened to be there. He blew the ram’s horn and shouted: We have no portion in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Each man to his tent, Israel!
- Proverbs 2:4if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure,
- Psalms 17:14With your hand, Lord, save me from men, from men of the world whose portion is in this life: You fill their bellies with what you have in store; their sons are satisfied, and they leave their surplus to their children.
- Isaiah 5:18Woe to those who drag iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,
- Habakkuk 2:13Is it not from the Lord of Armies that the peoples labor only to fuel the fire and countries exhaust themselves for nothing?
- Psalms 52:2Like a sharpened razor, your tongue devises destruction, working treachery.
- Psalms 57:4I am surrounded by lions; I lie down among devouring lions — people whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
- James 3:6And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of 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
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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