A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
What does Proverbs 6:12 mean?
If the slothful are to be condemned, who do nothing, much more those that do all the ill they can. Observe how such a man is described.
Key themes
Read with
Keep this verse inside Proverbs 6:12-15 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Proverbs 6:12
A naughty person - literally, "a man of Belial," i. e., a worthless man (see the Deuteronomy 13:13 note). This is the portrait of the man who is not to be trusted, whose look and gestures warn against him all who can observe. His speech is tortuous and crafty; his wink tells the accomplice that the victim is already snared; his gestures with foot and hand are half in deceit, and half in mockery.
Key words
- walketh
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walketh. (w) "homo Belijahal, vir iniquitatis", Montanus, Vatablus, Baynus, Michaelis.
- walketh
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walketh. (w) "homo Belijahal, vir iniquitatis", Montanus, Vatablus, Baynus, Michaelis.
Context in Proverbs 6
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Proverbs 6 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as fatherly discourses on wisdom. Proverbs offers compact instruction on speech, work, wealth, friendship, sex, discipline, justice, and wisdom as a way of life before God. Read this chapter with the wider themes of wisdom, fear of the Lord, and speech in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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