Proverbs 6:12-15

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 6:12

A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. The teacher begins by stating in general terms the nature and character of the man whom he now holds up as a warning to others, dud then proceeds to point out the various features in his conduct and behaviour by which he may be known. In concise terms he is described as "a naughty person, a wicked man." This is pre-eminently his character, and the first feature in it is that his life is one of wilful and injurious... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 6:12-15

A picture of spite I. THE SPITEFUL MAN DEFINED GENERALLY . ( Proverbs 6:12 .) He is "naughty," the old English word being expressive; otherwise "a thing of naught," a "slight man" (Shakespeare); in German heilloss, "unsound," "unworthy," and so worthless. Gather up the sense and force of these adjectives, and we get the idea comprehensively of badness, the sensuous counterpart of which is rottenness, corruption. II. HIS CHARACTERISTICS . ( Proverbs 6:13 , ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 6:12-15

The character and doom of the abandoned Perhaps there is no word which more aptly designates the man who is here described than the word "abandoned." The "man of Belial" ("the naughty man") is he who is abandoned, who has abandoned himself, to the promptings of his own evil nature, to the fascinations and tyrannies of sin. Here we see the features of his character and his doom. I. THAT IN SPEECH HE IS UTTERLY UNPRINCIPLED . "He walks with a froward mouth." He... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 6:12-19

11. Eleventh admonitory discourse. Warning against mischievousness as a thing hateful to God. The connection of this with the preceding discourse is not at first sight very clear, but it may be found in the fact, attested only too unhappily by experience, that sloth leads those who indulge in it to such vices as are next enumerated. The sluggard may develop into a treacherous and deceitful man, and even if such should not happen, the characteristics of the two are nearly allied, and their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 6:13

He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers. He employs his other members for the same nefarious purpose. In the language of St. Paul, he yields his members to uncleanness, and to iniquity unto iniquity ( Romans 6:19 ). "To wink with the eye ( karats ayin ) , " as in Proverbs 10:10 and Psalms 35:19 , or "with the eyes ( karats b'eynayim )," is properly to compress or nip them together, and so to wink, and give the signal to others not to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 6:14

From these external features the teacher passes to the heart the seat of all this mischief and deceit. In this respect we observe a striking correspondence with the method adopted by our Saviour in his leaching, who referred everything to the heart, as the true seat of all that was good or bad in man. Frowardness is in his heart (Hebrew, tah'pukoth b'libbo ); i.e. his heart is full of perverse imaginations, it is there he nourishes his jealousy, his hatred, his malice, his ill will. It... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 6:14

Sowing discord I. THE SOWER . He may be of various characters. 1 . A malignant person. Such a one delights in the mischief he makes. He flings the firebrand with fiendish glee because he loves to witness the conflagration. He is a true child of Satan, one to break the peace of Eden, one to set Cain to murder his brother. 2 . A person greedy of power. It is easier to make trouble than to mend it. Nothing is more simple than to scatter seeds of quarrels. A single pebble flung... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 6:15

Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. Great sins, as Muffet, in loc; observes, have great punishments; neither only great, but sudden. Therefore ; Hebrew, al-ken . A Nemesis or retribution awaits this man of malice and deceit. His calamity or destruction is represented as the direct result of, as flowing forth from, what he has done. His calamity ; Hebrew, eydo. On eyd, see Proverbs 1:26 . Shall come suddenly ; i.e. ... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Proverbs 6:12-15

Proverbs 6:12-15. A naughty person Hebrew, a man of Belial, a wicked man, whose continual practice it is, in one way or other, to work wickedness; walketh with a froward mouth Makes it his business, by lies; or flatteries, or slanders, or perjuries, to maintain himself in his idle courses. And if the slothful are to be condemned that do nothing, much more those that act wickedly, and contrive to do all the ill they can. He winketh with his eyes, &c. He vents his wickedness, as... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Proverbs 6:1-19

Rashness, laziness and troublemaking (6:1-19)A person can easily get into serious difficulties by agreeing to be a financial guarantor for a friend (or a stranger), as the friend may get so far into debt that the guarantor is ruined. If the guarantor realizes that he made a rash promise, he should act quickly. He should not rest till he has gone back to his friend, told him of his true position, and withdrawn his guarantee. Only in this way will he save himself from possible disaster... read more

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