When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.
Parallel translations
- WEB When his speech is charming, don’t believe him; for there are seven abominations in his heart.
- BSB When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart.
- NKJV When he speaks kindly, do not believe him, For there are seven abominations in his heart;
- NASB When he speaks graciously, do not believe him, Because there are seven abominations in his heart.
- NLT They pretend to be kind, but don’t believe them. Their hearts are full of many evils.
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
Do not trust charming speech, for the heart behind it may be full of evil. Pleasant words are no guarantee of sincerity.
Overview
Continuing verse 24, this counsels wariness toward gracious-sounding words that conceal abundant wickedness within. Discernment must weigh the heart, not just the voice. It echoes Scripture's repeated warning that flattery and smooth talk can deceive the unwary (Rom 16:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Prov 6:16–19These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
- Jer 12:6For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.
- Ps 28:3Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
- Matt 24:23Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
- Jer 9:2–8Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
- Ps 12:2They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
- Mic 7:5Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
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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 26:25 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
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