New International Version
Proverbs 16:27
27A scoundrel plots evil, and on their lips it 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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Scoundrels create trouble; their words are a destructive blaze.
Context of Proverbs 16:27
25There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. 26The appetite of laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on. A scoundrel plots evil, and on their lips it is like a scorching fire. 28A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. 29A violent person entices their neighbor and leads them down 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 think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.”
- 2 Samuel 20:1Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted, “We have no share in David, no part in Jesse’s son! Every man to his tent, Israel!”
- Proverbs 2:4and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,
- Psalms 17:14By your hand save me from such people, Lord, from those of this world whose reward is in this life. May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies; may their children gorge themselves on it, and may there be leftovers for their little ones.
- Isaiah 5:18Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes,
- Habakkuk 2:13Has not the Lord Almighty determined that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?
- Psalms 52:2You who practice deceit, your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor.
- Psalms 57:4I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among ravenous beasts— men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
- James 3:6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s 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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