Proverbs 17:4

4 An evil doer gives heed to false lips, and a liar gives ear to the tongue which curses.

Proverbs 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.


FOOTNOTES:

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

Proverbs 17:4 In-Context

2 A prudent slave shall have rule over a son that causes shame and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.
3 The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tries the hearts.
4 An evil doer gives heed to false lips, and a liar gives ear to the tongue which curses.
5 Whosoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker, and he that is glad regarding the calamity of someone else shall not go unpunished.
6 Children’s children are the crown of old men, and the honour of the children are their fathers.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010