Bible Strands
Proverbs 6:18
a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The text is part of King Solomon’s wisdom instruction to a younger listener, listing specific behaviors that provoke divine hatred. It appears between warnings about haughty eyes and false witnesses in a series of condemned actions.
The words — חֹרֵשׁ (choresh) literally means devises or plots, while מְמַהֲר֣וֹת (memaharot) means hurry or run swiftly. These terms anchor the verse’s focus on intentional planning followed by rapid execution.
The thread — The connection between internal plotting and physical action toward evil appears in Proverbs 1:16. The broader theme of pervasive wicked thoughts surfaces in Genesis 6:5 and Psalms 36:4.
Why it lands — The text states that wickedness begins in deliberate thought and moves quickly to action. It asks the reader to examine whether their own mental plans and physical responses align with the condemned behaviors listed in the surrounding verses.
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
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Cross-references
- Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
- Proverbs 1:16 For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.
- Psalms 36:4 Even on his bed he plots wickedness; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he fails to reject evil.
- Jeremiah 4:14 Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?
- Romans 3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
- Isaiah 59:7 Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
- Zechariah 8:17 do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely, for I hate all these things,” declares the LORD.
- Proverbs 24:8 He who plots evil will be called a schemer.
- Micah 2:1 Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.