Proverbs 17:4

Bible in Basic English (1941)

A wrongdoer gives attention to evil lips, and a man of deceit gives ear to a damaging tongue.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Prov 28:4 : 4 Those who have no respect for the law give praise to the evil-doer; but such as keep the law are against him.
  • 2 Tim 4:3-4 : 3 For the time will come when they will not take the true teaching; but, moved by their desires, they will get for themselves a great number of teachers for the pleasure of hearing them; 4 And shutting their ears to what is true, will be turned away to belief in foolish stories.
  • 1 John 4:5 : 5 They are of the world, so their talk is the world's talk, and the world gives ear to them.
  • Isa 30:10 : 10 Who say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Do not give us word of what is true, but say false things to give us pleasure:
  • Jer 5:31 : 31 The prophets give false words and the priests give decisions by their direction; and my people are glad to have it so: and what will you do in the end?
  • 1 Kgs 22:6-9 : 6 So the king of Israel got all the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Am I to go to Ramoth-gilead to make war or not? And they said, Go up: for the Lord will give it into the hands of the king. 7 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there no other prophet of the Lord here from whom we may get directions? 8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is still one man by whom we may get directions from the Lord, Micaiah, son of Imlah; but I have no love for him, for he is a prophet of evil to me and not of good. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. 9 Then the king of Israel sent for one of his unsexed servants and said, Go quickly and come back with Micaiah, the son of Imlah. 10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, were seated on their seats of authority, dressed in their robes, by the doorway into Samaria; and all the prophets were acting as prophets before them. 11 And Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made himself horns of iron and said, The Lord says, Pushing back the Aramaeans with these, you will put an end to them completely. 12 And all the prophets said the same thing, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and it will go well for you, for the Lord will give it into the hands of the king. 13 Now the servant who had gone to get Micaiah said to him, See now, all the prophets with one voice are saying good things to the king; so let your words be like theirs and say good things. 14 And Micaiah said, By the living Lord, whatever the Lord says to me I will say. 15 When he came to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, are we to go to Ramoth-gilead to make war or not? And in answer he said, Go up, and it will go well for you; and the Lord will give it into the hands of the king. 16 Then the king said to him, Have I not, again and again, put you on your oath to say nothing to me but what is true in the name of the Lord? 17 Then he said, I saw all Israel wandering on the mountains like sheep without a keeper; and the Lord said, These have no master: let them go back, every man to his house in peace. 18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not say that he would not be a prophet of good but of evil? 19 And he said, Give ear now to the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord seated on his seat of power, with all the army of heaven in their places round him at his right hand and at his left. 20 And the Lord said, How may Ahab be tricked into going up to Ramoth-gilead to his death? And one said one thing and one another. 21 Then a spirit came forward and took his place before the Lord and said, I will get him to do it by a trick. 22 And the Lord said, How? And he said, I will go out and be a spirit of deceit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Your trick will have its effect on him: go out and do so. 23 And now, see, the Lord has put a spirit of deceit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the Lord has said evil against you. 24 Then Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, came near and gave Micaiah a blow on the side of the face, saying, Where is the spirit of the Lord whose word is in you? 25 And Micaiah said, Truly, you will see on that day when you go into an inner room to keep yourself safe. 26 And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon, the ruler of the town, and to Joash, the king's son; 27 And say, It is the king's order that this man is to be put in prison and given prison food till I come again in peace. 28 And Micaiah said, If you come back at all in peace, the Lord has not sent his word by me.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Prov 17:20
    79%

    20 Nothing good comes to him whose heart is fixed on evil purposes: and he who has an evil tongue will come to trouble.

  • Prov 6:12
    78%

    12 A good-for-nothing man is an evil-doer; he goes on his way causing trouble with false words;

  • Prov 16:27
    78%

    27 A good-for-nothing man is a designer of evil, and in his lips there is a burning fire.

  • Prov 12:22
    77%

    22 False lips are hated by the Lord, but those whose acts are true are his delight.

  • Prov 26:28
    76%

    28 A false tongue has hate for those who have clean hearts, and a smooth mouth is a cause of falling.

  • Prov 4:24
    76%

    24 Put away from you an evil tongue, and let false lips be far from you.

  • Prov 10:18-20
    3 verses
    76%

    18 Hate is covered up by the lips of the upright man, but he who lets out evil about another is foolish.

    19 Where there is much talk there will be no end to sin, but he who keeps his mouth shut does wisely.

    20 The tongue of the upright man is like tested silver: the heart of the evil-doer is of little value.

  • Prov 19:28
    76%

    28 A good-for-nothing witness makes sport of the judge's decision: and the mouth of evil-doers sends out evil like a stream.

  • Ps 50:19
    76%

    19 You have given your mouth to evil, your tongue to words of deceit.

  • Prov 17:23
    76%

    23 A sinner takes an offering out of his robe, to get a decision for himself in a cause.

  • Prov 29:12
    76%

    12 If a ruler gives attention to false words, all his servants are evil-doers.

  • Prov 10:32
    76%

    32 The lips of the upright man have knowledge of what is pleasing, but twisted are the mouths of evil-doers.

  • Prov 26:23-24
    2 verses
    75%

    23 Smooth lips and an evil heart are like a vessel of earth plated with silver waste.

    24 With his lips the hater makes things seem what they are not, but deceit is stored up inside him;

  • Ps 10:7
    75%

    7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and false words: under his tongue are evil purposes and dark thoughts.

  • Ps 34:13
    75%

    13 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from words of deceit.

  • Prov 13:5
    75%

    5 The upright man is a hater of false words: the evil-doer gets a bad name and is put to shame.

  • Prov 17:7
    75%

    7 Fair words are not to be looked for from a foolish man, much less are false lips in a ruler.

  • Prov 12:17
    75%

    17 The breathing out of true words gives knowledge of righteousness; but a false witness gives out deceit.

  • Prov 24:2
    74%

    2 For the purposes of their hearts are destruction, and their lips are talking of trouble.

  • Prov 19:5
    74%

    5 A false witness will not go without punishment, and the breather out of deceit will not go free.

  • Ps 31:18
    74%

    18 Let the false lips be shut, which say evil against the upright, looking down on him in their pride.

  • Prov 16:30
    74%

    30 He whose eyes are shut is a man of twisted purposes, and he who keeps his lips shut tight makes evil come about.

  • Prov 15:28
    74%

    28 The heart of the upright gives thought to his answer; but from the mouth of the evil-doer comes a stream of evil things.

  • Ps 36:3
    74%

    3 In the words of his mouth are evil and deceit; he has given up being wise and doing good.

  • Ps 12:2
    74%

    2 Everyone says false words to his neighbour: their tongues are smooth in their talk, and their hearts are full of deceit.

  • Prov 6:17-19
    3 verses
    74%

    17 Eyes of pride, a false tongue, hands which take life without cause;

    18 A heart full of evil designs, feet which are quick in running after sin;

    19 A false witness, breathing out untrue words, and one who lets loose violent acts among brothers.

  • Prov 8:7
    73%

    7 For good faith goes out of my mouth, and false lips are disgusting to me.

  • Ps 120:3
    73%

    3 What punishment will he give you? what more will he do to you, you false tongue?

  • Job 15:5
    73%

    5 For your mouth is guided by your sin, and you have taken the tongue of the false for yourself.

  • Prov 15:4
    73%

    4 A comforting tongue is a tree of life, but a twisted tongue is a crushing of the spirit.

  • Prov 14:5
    73%

    5 A true witness does not say what is false, but a false witness is breathing out deceit.

  • Prov 21:6
    73%

    6 He who gets stores of wealth by a false tongue, is going after what is only breath, and searching for death.

  • Prov 19:9
    73%

    9 A false witness will not go without punishment, and the breather out of deceit will be cut off.

  • Prov 6:14
    73%

    14 His mind is ever designing evil: he lets loose violent acts.

  • Prov 20:19
    73%

    19 He who goes about talking of the business of others gives away secrets: so have nothing to do with him whose lips are open wide.

  • Prov 15:7
    73%

    7 The lips of the wise keep knowledge, but the heart of the foolish man is not right.

  • Prov 18:7-8
    2 verses
    73%

    7 The mouth of a foolish man is his destruction, and his lips are a net for his soul.

    8 The words of one who says evil of his neighbour secretly are like sweet food, and go down into the inner parts of the stomach.

  • Ps 52:2
    73%

    2 Purposing destruction, using deceit; your tongue is like a sharp blade.

  • Prov 24:8
    72%

    8 He whose purposes are bad will be named a man of evil designs.

  • Prov 29:24
    72%

    24 A man who takes part with a thief has hate for his soul; he is put under oath, but says nothing.

  • Ps 52:4
    72%

    4 Destruction is in all your words, O false tongue.

  • Prov 12:19
    72%

    19 True lips are certain for ever, but a false tongue is only for a minute.

  • Isa 32:7
    72%

    7 The designs of the false are evil, purposing the destruction of the poor man by false words, even when he is in the right.

  • Prov 21:28
    72%

    28 A false witness will be cut off, ...