Bible Strands
Proverbs 3:32
for the LORD detests the perverse, but He is a friend to the upright.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Solomon addresses a student in a wisdom instruction, concluding a warning against envying violent men. The verse functions as a causal explanation for the preceding command.
The words — תוֹעֲבַת (to‘a.vat) denotes an abomination or detestable thing, while סוֹד (sod) denotes intimate counsel or close fellowship. The Hebrew directly contrasts Yahweh’s rejection of the crooked with His close association with the upright.
The thread — This contrast appears in Proverbs 11:20 and Proverbs 17:15, where the perverse in heart or walk are marked as an abomination to the LORD. Psalms 25:14 parallels the second half by describing Yahweh’s intimate confiding with those who fear Him.
Why it lands — The text demands a clear alignment with the upright rather than the perverse, since the LORD actively detests the crooked and maintains close fellowship with the blameless. A reader must choose which relationship to cultivate.
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
For the froward is abomination to the Lord: but his secret is with the righteous.
Cross-references
- Psalms 25:14 The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.
- Proverbs 11:20 The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, but the blameless in their walk are His delight.
- Proverbs 17:15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable to the LORD.
- John 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.
- Proverbs 8:13 To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.
- Matthew 13:11 He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
- John 14:21 Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
- Psalms 18:26 to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.
- Job 29:4 when I was in my prime, when the friendship of God rested on my tent,
- Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.