Bible Strands
Proverbs 17:20
The one with a perverse heart finds no good, and he whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author of Proverbs addresses a learner or court audience, placing this verse between a warning about loving strife and a proverb about the grief of fathering a fool.
The words — The Hebrew term עִקֶּשׁ ('i.kesh) means "twisted," describing a heart that yields no good. The word נֶהְפָּךְ (neh.pakh) denotes a "perverted" tongue that causes its speaker to fall.
The thread — The text links deceitful speech to ruin, echoing Proverbs 10:31 which states a perverse tongue will be cut out, and James 3:6 which calls the tongue a fire that pollutes the whole person.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to examine their own speech and inner disposition, recognizing that internal corruption inevitably produces external ruin.
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
He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.
Cross-references
- James 3:6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
- Proverbs 10:31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out.
- Psalms 18:26 to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.
- Proverbs 3:32 for the LORD detests the perverse, but He is a friend to the upright.
- Proverbs 6:12 A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth,
- Proverbs 8:13 To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.
- Proverbs 10:10 He who winks the eye causes grief, and foolish lips will come to ruin.
- Proverbs 10:14 The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of the fool invites destruction.
- Proverbs 18:6 A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.
- Ecclesiastes 10:12 The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.