These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
What does Proverbs 6:16 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
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Keep this verse inside Proverbs 6:16-19 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Proverbs 6:16
The closing words, "he that soweth discord" ( Proverbs 6:19 , compare Proverbs 6:14 ), lead us to identify the sketch as taken from the same character. With the recognized Hebrew form of climax (see Proverbs 30:15 , Proverbs 30:18 , Proverbs 30:24 ; Amos 1:1-15 ; 2; Job 5:19 ), the teacher here enumerates six qualities as detestable, and the seventh as worse than all (seven represents completeness), but all the seven in this instance belong to one man, the man of Belial Proverbs 6:12 .
Key words
- the abomination of his soul
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the abomination of his soul.
- the abomination of his soul
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the abomination of his soul.
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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