A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, And a flattering mouth works ruin.
Parallel translations
- WEB A lying tongue hates those it hurts; and a flattering mouth works ruin.
- KJV A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.
- BSB A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
- NASB A lying tongue hates those it crushes, And a flattering mouth works ruin.
- NLT A lying tongue hates its victims, and flattering words cause ruin.
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
A lying tongue hates its victims and flattery brings ruin. Deceitful and flattering speech destroys.
Overview
The verse pairs lying and flattery as twin forms of destructive speech, both rooted in disregard for others' good. Flattery, like outright lies, ultimately works ruin rather than love. It commends truthful, loving speech that builds up rather than tears down (Eph 4:15, 29).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- John 8:44–49You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father.
- Luke 20:20–21They watched him, and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor.
- Prov 7:21–23With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him.
- Prov 7:5that they may keep you from the strange woman, from the foreigner who flatters with her words.
- John 10:32–33Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?”
- Prov 29:5A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
- Prov 6:24to keep you from the immoral woman, from the flattery of the wayward wife’s tongue.
- John 15:22–24If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.
- John 8:40But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham didn’t do this.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 26:28 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.