Bible Strands
Proverbs 12:22
Lying lips are detestable to the LORD, but those who deal faithfully are His delight.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — A wisdom teacher (traditionally Solomon) addresses a student within a block of antithetical proverbs (12:1–24) that pit the righteous against the wicked. The verse sits between a promise of safety for the righteous (v. 21) and a warning about the fool who broadcasts his folly (v. 23).
The words — שָׁקֶר (sha.qer, "falsehood") and אֱמוּנָה ('e.mu.Nah, "faithfulness") form the antithesis; the first names the content of the lips, the second the quality of the doer's life.
The thread — Proverbs 11:20 mirrors the structure almost verbatim ("abomination… delight"), and Psalms 5:6 and Proverbs 6:16 extend the same divine verdict on deceit.
Why it lands — It places the reader's speech and conduct directly before Yahweh's approval or rejection, leaving no neutral ground between the two.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight.
Cross-references
- Psalms 5:6 You destroy those who tell lies; the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
- Proverbs 6:16 There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him:
- Proverbs 11:20 The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, but the blameless in their walk are His delight.
- Revelation 22:15 But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- Jeremiah 9:24 But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.
- Proverbs 11:1 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.
- Isaiah 9:15 The head is the elder and honorable man, and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies.
- Ezekiel 13:22 Because you have disheartened the righteous with your lies, even though I have caused them no grief, and because you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways to save their lives,
- Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Ezekiel 13:19 You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.