to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perversity,
Parallel translations
- WEB to deliver you from the way of evil, from the men who speak perverse things;
- KJV To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;
- 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 15:33Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
- Prov 13:20He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
- Prov 8:13To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.
- 2 Cor 6:17“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
- Isa 59:3–5For your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters injustice.
- Acts 20:30Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them.
- Prov 16:28–30A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends.
- Ps 26:4–5I do not sit with deceitful men, nor keep company with hypocrites.
- Ps 17:4–5As for the deeds of men—by the word of Your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.
- Prov 4:14–17Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.
- Prov 1:10–19My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them.
- Prov 3:32for the LORD detests the perverse, but He is a friend to the upright.
- Prov 9:6Leave your folly behind, and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.”
- Ps 141:4Do not let my heart be drawn to any evil thing or take part in works of wickedness with men who do iniquity; let me not feast on their delicacies.
- Ps 101:4A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know nothing of evil.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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.