Proverbi 17:4

4 L’uomo maligno presta gli orecchi alle labbra inique; E l’ingannatore ascolta la lingua maliziosa.

Proverbi 17:4 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 17:4

A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips
A man of an ill spirit, of a mischievous disposition, that delights in doing wickedness; he carefully attends to such as speak falsehood; he listens to lies and calumnies, loves to hear ill reports of persons, and takes pleasure in spreading them to the hurt of their characters; and men of bad hearts and lives give heed to seducing spirits, to false teachers, to inch as speak lies in hypocrisy, who sooth and harden them in their wickedness; [and] a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue:
or, "to a tongue of destruction" ^F1; a culumniating, backbiting tongue, which destroys the good name and reputation of men; and he that is given to lying is made up of lying, or is a lie itself, as the word signifies; who roves and makes a lie, as antichrist and his followers; such an one hearkens diligently to everything that may detract from the character of those especially he bears an ill will to: or it may be better rendered, "he that hearkens to a lie [gives heed] to a naughty tongue" ^F2; for a lying tongue is a naughty one, evil in itself, pernicious in its effects and consequences.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 (twh Nwvl le) "perniciosae linguae", Tigurine version; "linguae confractionum calamitatum, injuriarum", Vatablus; "ad linguam exiliorum", Michaelis.
F2 So Michaelis.

Proverbi 17:4 In-Context

2 Il servitore intendente signoreggerà sopra il figliuolo che reca vituperio, E spartirà l’eredità tra i fratelli.

3 La coppella è per l’argento, e il fornello per l’oro; Ma il Signore prova i cuori.

4 L’uomo maligno presta gli orecchi alle labbra inique; E l’ingannatore ascolta la lingua maliziosa.

5 Chi beffa il povero fa onta a colui che l’ha fatto; Chi si rallegra della calamità altrui non resterà impunito.

6 I figliuoli de’ figliuoli son la corona de’ vecchi; E i padri son la gloria de’ figliuoli.