to deliver you from the way of evil, from the men who speak perverse things;
Parallel translations
- KJV To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
- BSB to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perversity,
- NKJV To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things,
- NASB To rescue you from the way of evil, From a person who speaks perverse things;
- NLT Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Wisdom delivers you from the way of evil and from deceitful men. It matters because wisdom rescues us from corrupting influences.
Overview
The first deliverance wisdom provides is from evil men whose speech is perverse. Discernment exposes and protects against the lies of corrupt company. This rescue from the path of wickedness reflects God's saving purpose to deliver His people from sin's influence.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 1 Cor 15:33Don’t be deceived! “Evil companionships corrupt good morals.”
- Prov 13:20One who walks with wise men grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
- Prov 8:13The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth.
- 2 Cor 6:17Therefore “‘Come out from among them, and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you.
- Isa 59:3–5For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies. Your tongue mutters wickedness.
- Acts 20:30Men will arise from among your own selves, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
- Prov 16:28–30A perverse man stirs up strife. A whisperer separates close friends.
- Ps 26:4–5I have not sat with deceitful men, neither will I go in with hypocrites.
- Ps 17:4–5As for the deeds of men, by the word of your lips, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent.
- Prov 4:14–17Don’t enter into the path of the wicked. Don’t walk in the way of evil men.
- Prov 1:10–19My son, if sinners entice you, don’t consent.
- Prov 3:32For the perverse is an abomination to Yahweh, but his friendship is with the upright.
- Prov 9:6Leave your simple ways, and live. Walk in the way of understanding.”
- Ps 141:4Don’t incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness with men who work iniquity. Don’t let me eat of their delicacies.
- Ps 101:4A perverse heart will be far from me. I will have nothing to do with evil.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 2:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.