Bible Strands
Proverbs 26:23
Like glaze covering an earthen vessel are burning lips and a wicked heart.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The sage addresses a general audience within a collection of wisdom sayings warning against foolish and deceitful behavior. The verse sits between observations on the seductive nature of gossip and the concealed malice of a hateful man.
The words — מְצֻפֶּ֣ה (me.tzu.Peh) means overlaid or glazed, and דֹּלְקִ֣ים (do.le.Kim) means burning. These terms describe a surface that appears attractive and warm while masking an unrefined interior.
The thread — The motif of deceptive exterior versus corrupt interior appears in Luke 11:39, Luke 22:47, and Proverbs 10:18. These passages link outwardly pleasing or familiar actions with inward hostility or greed.
Why it lands — The text demands a reader to judge character by internal consistency rather than outward presentation. It requires vigilance against accepting words that mask malicious intent.
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
Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross.
Cross-references
- Luke 22:47 While He was still speaking, a crowd arrived, led by the man called Judas, one of the Twelve. He approached Jesus to kiss Him.
- Luke 11:39 Then the Lord said, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
- Proverbs 10:18 The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.
- Proverbs 25:4 Remove the dross from the silver, and a vessel for a silversmith will come forth.
- Ezekiel 33:31 So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.
- Matthew 23:27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity.
- 2 Samuel 20:9 “Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.