He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.
Parallel translations
- WEB One who plots to do evil will be called a schemer.
- BSB He who plots evil will be called a schemer.
- NKJV He who plots to do evil Will be called a schemer.
- NASB ¶One who plans to do evil, People will call a schemer.
- NLT A person who plans evil will get a reputation as a troublemaker.
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
The one who schemes to do evil earns a reputation as a troublemaker.
Overview
A person who deliberately plans wrongdoing becomes known for his mischief. The verse links inner scheming to public reputation; what one devises eventually defines one's name. Scripture warns that hidden plots will be exposed, for God weighs the heart and judges every secret intention (Luke 12:2-3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 21:11For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
- Prov 6:18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
- Prov 6:14Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
- Ezek 38:10–11Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
- Prov 14:22Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.
- Rom 1:30Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
- Prov 24:2For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
- Prov 24:9The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.
- Nah 1:11There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor.
- Isa 10:7–13Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
- 1 Kgs 2:44The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head;
- Isa 32:7The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 24:8 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.