Bible Strands
Proverbs 17:4
A wicked man listens to evil lips; a liar gives ear to a destructive tongue.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The text addresses human moral alignment, positioned between a declaration that God tests hearts and a warning against mocking the poor. It functions as a wisdom observation on how character determines what one chooses to hear.
The words — מַקְשִׁיב (mak.shiv) denotes actively paying attention or giving ear, while שֶׁקֶר (she.ker) refers to deception or falsehood. The verse pairs these terms to show that moral corruption selects its auditory environment.
The thread — This pattern of selective listening appears in 2 Timothy 4:3 regarding those who gather around teachers for itching ears, in Proverbs 28:4 where those who forsake the law praise the wicked, and in 1 John 4:5 where the world listens to those who speak from a worldly perspective.
Why it lands — The text demands self-examination of one’s listening habits to expose underlying moral alignment. It requires the reader to recognize that attention is a moral choice that confirms one’s nature.
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
A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.
Cross-references
- 2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.
- Proverbs 28:4 Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.
- 1 John 4:5 They are of the world. That is why they speak from the world’s perspective, and the world listens to them.
- Isaiah 30:10 They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.
- Jeremiah 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
- 1 Kings 22:6 So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” “Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
- Revelation 13:3 One of the heads of the beast appeared to have been mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast.
- 1 Samuel 22:7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Is the son of Jesse giving all of you fields and vineyards and making you commanders of thousands or hundreds?