Proverbs 24:2 - Exposition

For their heart studieth destruction . The grounds of the warning arc here given, as in Proverbs 1:15 . "Destruction" ( shod ); Vulgate, rapinas , "violence" of all kinds, e . g . robbery, murder. Their lips talk of mischief; utter lies and slanders which may injure other people or bring themselves profit. Admiration of such men and intercourse with them must be repugnant to every religious soul. The LXX . refers the verse to evil imaginations issuing in evil talk; "For their heart meditates falsehoods, and their lips speak mischiefs ( πόνους )."