Bible Strands
Proverbs 2:15
whose paths are crooked and whose ways are devious.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The wise instructor addresses a student in Proverbs 2, describing the moral character of the wicked to warn against their influence. This description directly follows the warning in verse 14 about those who delight in evil and precedes the promise of deliverance in verse 16.
The words — The text states that the paths are crooked and the ways are devious. The Hebrew עִקֻּשִׁים ('i.ku.shim) translates literally to "twisted," while נְלוּזִים (ne.lu.zim) means "perverted" or "devious."
The thread — The motif of crooked ways appears in Psalms 125:5 and Proverbs 21:8, which contrast the deceptive paths of the guilty with the upright conduct of the innocent. Deuteronomy 32:5 also applies this language to a perverse generation.
Why it lands — The text demands a clear-eyed assessment of moral alignment, distinguishing between upright conduct and deceptive paths. It requires the reader to actively avoid association with those who normalize and delight in twisted behavior.
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
Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
Cross-references
- Psalms 125:5 But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.
- Proverbs 21:8 The way of a guilty man is crooked, but the conduct of the innocent is upright.
- Deuteronomy 32:5 His people have acted corruptly toward Him; the blemish on them is not that of His children, but of a perverse and crooked generation.
- Philippians 2:15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world
- Isaiah 59:8 The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their tracks. They have turned them into crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace.
- Isaiah 30:8 Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll; it will be for the days to come, a witness forever and ever.