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¶One who plans to do evil, People will call a schemer.
Proverbs 24:8 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB One who plots to do evil will be called a schemer.
  • KJV He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person.
  • BSB He who plots evil will be called a schemer.
  • NKJV He who plots to do evil Will be called 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 you. They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed.
  • Prov 6:18a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are swift in running to mischief,
  • Prov 6:14in whose heart is perverseness, who devises evil continually, who always sows discord.
  • Ezek 38:10–11Thus says the Lord Yahweh: It shall happen in that day, that things shall come into your mind, and you shall devise an evil device:
  • Prov 14:22Don’t they go astray who plot evil? But love and faithfulness belong to those who plan good.
  • Rom 1:30backbiters, hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
  • Prov 24:2for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about mischief.
  • Prov 24:9The schemes of folly are sin. The mocker is detested by men.
  • Nah 1:11There is one gone out of you, who devises evil against Yahweh, who counsels wickedness.
  • Isa 10:7–13However he doesn’t mean so, neither does his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off not a few nations.
  • 1 Kgs 2:44The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know in your heart all the wickedness that you did to David my father. Therefore Yahweh will return your wickedness on your own head.
  • Isa 32:7The ways of the scoundrel are evil. He devises wicked devices to destroy the humble with lying words, even when the needy speaks right.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Proverbs videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Proverbs 24:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ProverbsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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.