Psalms 120:2-3(v17)Deliver my soul, Yahweh, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. What will be given to you, and what will be done more to you, you…
Psalms 11:5(v16)Yahweh examines the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and him who loves violence.
Proverbs 12:22(v17)Lying lips are an abomination to Yahweh, but those who do the truth are his delight.
Proverbs 8:13(v16)The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth.
Proverbs 11:20(v16)Those who are perverse in heart are an abomination to Yahweh, but those whose ways are blameless are his delight.
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Genesis 6:5(v18)Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually…
Psalms 101:5(v17)I will silence whoever secretly slanders his neighbor. I won’t tolerate one who is arrogant and conceited.
Proverbs 1:16(v18)for their feet run to evil. They hurry to shed blood.
Isaiah 1:15(v17)When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of…
Deuteronomy 25:16(v16)For all who do such things, all who do unrighteously, are an abomination to Yahweh your God.
Psalms 5:6(v17)You will destroy those who speak lies. Yahweh abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
Psalms 36:4(v18)He plots iniquity on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He doesn’t abhor evil.
Proverbs 17:15(v16)He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.
Jeremiah 4:14(v18)Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long will your evil thoughts lodge within you?
Romans 3:15(v18)“Their feet are swift to shed blood.
Proverbs 3:32(v16)For the perverse is an abomination to Yahweh, but his friendship is with the upright.
Proverbs 19:5(v19)A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who pours out lies shall not go free.
Isaiah 59:7(v18)Their feet run to evil, and they hurry to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. Desolation and destruction are in…
Zechariah 8:17(v18)and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate,” says…
Proverbs 6:14(v19)in whose heart is perverseness, who devises evil continually, who always sows discord.
Proverbs 24:8(v18)One who plots to do evil will be called a schemer.
Micah 2:1(v18)Woe to those who devise iniquity and work evil on their beds! When the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of…
Deuteronomy 27:25(v17)‘Cursed is he who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Proverbs 21:4(v17)A high look and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, is sin.
Proverbs 26:28(v17)A lying tongue hates those it hurts; and a flattering mouth works ruin.
Isaiah 3:9(v17)The look of their faces testify against them. They parade their sin like Sodom. They don’t hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have…
James 3:18(v19)Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Psalms 27:12(v19)Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty.
Proverbs 11:1(v16)A false balance is an abomination to Yahweh, but accurate weights are his delight.
Proverbs 19:9(v19)A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who utters lies shall perish.
Hosea 4:1-2(v17)Hear Yahweh’s word, you children of Israel; for Yahweh has a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “Indeed there is no truth, nor…
Deuteronomy 19:10(v17)This is so that innocent blood will not be shed in the middle of your land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, leaving…
2 Kings 24:4(v17)and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and Yahweh would not pardon.
Psalms 18:27(v17)For you will save the afflicted people, but the arrogant eyes you will bring down.
Psalms 31:18(v17)Let the lying lips be mute, which speak against the righteous insolently, with pride and contempt.
Proverbs 14:5(v17)A truthful witness will not lie, but a false witness pours out lies.
Isaiah 3:16(v17)Moreover Yahweh said, “Because the daughters of Zion are arrogant, and walk with outstretched necks and flirting eyes, walking to trip as…
Isaiah 59:3-7(v17)For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies. Your tongue mutters wickedness. No one…
John 8:44(v17)You 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…
Deuteronomy 19:16-20(v19)If an unrighteous witness rises up against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, then both the men, between whom the controversy…
Deuteronomy 24:4(v16)her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife after she is defiled; for that would be an abomination to…
Proverbs 1:11(v17)If they say, “Come with us. Let’s lay in wait for blood. Let’s lurk secretly for the innocent without cause.
Proverbs 15:8-9(v16)The sacrifice made by the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh, but the prayer of the upright is his delight. The way of the wicked is an…
Proverbs 17:7(v17)Arrogant speech isn’t fitting for a fool, much less do lying lips fit a prince.
Proverbs 25:18(v19)A man who gives false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.
Proverbs 30:13(v17)There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes! Their eyelids are lifted up.
Isaiah 2:11(v17)The lofty looks of man will be brought low, the arrogance of men will be bowed down, and Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day.
James 3:14-16(v19)But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and don’t lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that…
Deuteronomy 18:10-12(v16)There shall not be found with you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who tells…
Deuteronomy 23:18(v16)You shall not bring the hire of a prostitute, or the wages of a male prostitute, into the house of Yahweh your God for any vow; for both of…
Psalms 10:4(v17)The wicked, in the pride of his face, has no room in his thoughts for God.
Psalms 73:6-8(v17)Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck. Violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with fat. Their minds pass the…
Psalms 131:1(v17)Yahweh, my heart isn’t arrogant, nor my eyes lofty; nor do I concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me.
Proverbs 12:17(v19)He who is truthful testifies honestly, but a false witness lies.
Proverbs 20:23(v16)Yahweh detests differing weights, and dishonest scales are not pleasing.
Proverbs 22:10(v19)Drive out the mocker, and strife will go out; yes, quarrels and insults will stop.
Proverbs 26:20(v19)For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.
Proverbs 30:21(v16)“For three things the earth trembles, and under four, it can’t bear up:
Amos 1:3(v16)Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have threshed Gilead…
Amos 1:6(v16)Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Gaza, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they carried away captive the…
Amos 1:9(v16)Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Tyre, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they delivered up the whole…
Amos 1:11(v16)Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Edom, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he pursued his brother with the…
Amos 2:1(v16)Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Moab, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he burned the bones of the king…
Acts 6:13(v19)and set up false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking blasphemous words against this holy place and the law.
2 Timothy 2:23(v19)But refuse foolish and ignorant questionings, knowing that they generate strife.
1 Peter 5:5(v17)Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another;…
Revelation 22:15(v17)Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
1 Kings 21:10-15(v19)Set two men, wicked fellows, before him, and let them testify against him, saying, ‘You cursed God and the king!’ Then carry him out, and…
Proverbs 16:28(v19)A perverse man stirs up strife. A whisperer separates close friends.
Proverbs 20:10(v16)Differing weights and differing measures, both of them alike are an abomination to Yahweh.
Proverbs 30:29(v16)“There are three things which are stately in their march, four which are stately in going:
Amos 2:4(v16)Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have rejected Yahweh’s…
Amos 2:6(v16)Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Israel, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have sold the righteous…
3 John 1:9-10(v19)I wrote to the assembly, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, doesn’t accept what we say. Therefore if I come, I will call…
Exodus 20:16(v19)“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Exodus 23:1(v19)“You shall not spread a false report. Don’t join your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness.
Psalms 35:11(v19)Unrighteous witnesses rise up. They ask me about things that I don’t know about.
Proverbs 30:18(v16)“There are three things which are too amazing for me, four which I don’t understand:
Proverbs 30:24(v16)“There are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise:
Matthew 15:19(v19)For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.
Matthew 26:59(v19)Now the chief priests, the elders, and the whole council sought false testimony against Jesus, that they might put him to death;
Revelation 21:27(v16)There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv18–19Meaning, the raging affections, which carry a man away…
Meaning, the raging affections, which carry a man away in such sort that he cannot tell what he doeth.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv16–19Pro 6:16 These six [things] doth the LORD hate:…
Pro 6:16 These six [things] doth the LORD hate: yea, seven [are] an abomination unto him:
Ver. 16. These six things doth the Lord hate.] That is, He detesteth, damneth, punisheth them in the sluggard, whose soul is the sink of all these ensuing evils. Where note, that sin makes wicked men the object of God’s hatred; the saints, of his pity: as we hate poison in a toad, but we pity it in a man; in the one, it is their nature, in the other, their disease.
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Yea, seven are an abomination to him.] Or, That seventh {a} his soul abhorreth, that sowing of discord among brethren heighteneth and completeth his hatred of the rest.
{a} Septimum abominatio animae illius.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv16–19Hate, to wit, above many other sins, which have…
Hate, to wit, above many other sins, which have a worse name in the world.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv16–19A proud look,.... Or, "eyes elated" (d); scorning to…
A proud look,.... Or, "eyes elated" (d); scorning to look down upon others; or looking upon them with disdain; or reckoning them as unworthy to be looked upon, having an high opinion of their own worth and merit. Pride is the first of the hateful things mentioned; it being the first sin committed, as is probable, the sin of the angels, and of the first man; and is a predominant evil in human nature, and is directly opposite to God and to his nature, and against which he sets himself; for "he resisteth the proud", Jam 4:6; the pride of the heart shows itself in the eyes, or by the looks of a man; Gersom says, the phrase denotes impudence and haughtiness;
a lying tongue; that is the second of the hateful things; a tongue speaking falsehood, knowingly and willingly, with an intention to deceive others; to hurt the character of a neighbour, or to flatter a friend, is a most detestable evil; it ought to be so to men, it must be so to God, who is a God of truth: nor is there anything in which a man more resembles the devil, who is the father of lies;
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and hands that shed innocent blood; human blood; and that of persons who have not been guilty of any capital sin, for which they ought to die by the laws of God or men, and yet shed or poured out as common water; such hands must be defiled, and such men must be hateful to God, they destroying his image, and being like to the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning. These "three" sins are plainly to be seen in the son of Belial, antichrist, who exalts himself above all that is called God, the kings and princes of the earth; he and his followers speak lies in hypocrisy; and is the whore that is drunk with the blood of the saints, Th2 2:4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv16, 18Hate - Above many other sins which have a…
Hate - Above many other sins which have a worse name in the world.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn v16Verse 16. These six - doth the Lord hate]
Verse 16. These six - doth the Lord hate]
1. A proud look - exalted eyes; those who will not condescend to look on the rest of mankind.
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2. A lying tongue - he who neither loves nor tells truth.
3. Hands that shed innocent blood, whether by murder or by battery.
4. A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations - the heart that fabricates such, lays the foundation, builds upon it, and completes the superstructure of iniquity.
5. Feet that be swift in running to mischief - he who works iniquity with greediness.
6. A false witness that speaketh lies - one who, even on his oath before a court of justice, tells any thing but the truth.
Seven are an abomination unto him] נפשו naphsho, "to his soul." The seventh is, he that soweth discord among brethren - he who troubles the peace of a family, of a village, of the state; all who, by lies and misrepresentations, strive to make men's minds evil-affected towards their brethren.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v16Pro 6:16-19. These six things — Generally found in…
Pro 6:16-19. These six things — Generally found in those men of Belial, described in the foregoing verses; doth the Lord hate — Namely, above many other sins, which have a worse name in the world; a proud look — Pride of heart, which commonly discovers itself by a man’s looks and gestures; a lying tongue — Lying and deceit in his common conversation. A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations — Whose practice it is to design and contrive wickedness. Feet that be swift in running to mischief — Such as greedily and readily execute their wicked designs, without any restraint or delay. A false witness that speaketh lies — Namely, in judgment: whereby this differs from the former lying, Pro 6:17; and him that soweth discord among brethren — That is, dear relations or friends.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn v16A new section, but not a new subject. The…
A new section, but not a new subject. The closing words, “he that soweth discord” (Pro 6:19, compare Pro 6:14), lead us to identify the sketch as taken from the same character. With the recognized Hebrew form of climax (see Pro 30:15, Pro 30:18, Pro 30:24; Amo 1:1-15; 2; Job 5:19), the teacher here enumerates six qualities as detestable, and the seventh as worse than all (seven represents completeness), but all the seven in this instance belong to one man, the man of Belial Pro 6:12.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges1846 · Public DomainOn v16Man conceives of God in his heart as "such…
Man conceives of God in his heart as "such a one as himself" (Psa 50:21 ), looking with indifference at sin. Here therefore Solomon names six — yea — seven (Compare Pro 30:15-18 ) abominations (most of them mentioned in the preceding list) which the LORD hateth — a proud look,†1 a lying tongue,†2 a blood-stained hand.†3 And, lest we should think, that he "looketh only on the outward appearance;" the heart, active in devising wickedness,†4 is brought out; and its ready organ, the feet swift in running to mischief. (Pro 1:16 . Isa 59:7 . Rom 3:15 .) How hateful also is the false witness (Zec 8:17 ), surely reserved by him for judgment! (Pro 19:5 . Zec 5:4 . Mal 3:5 .) Let the self-willed separatist remember the double stamp (Pro 6:14, Pro 6:19 ) upon him that soweth discord among brethren. If the heavenly "dew descends upon the brethren that dwell together in unity" (Psa 133:1-3 .), a withering blast will fall on those, who, mistaking prejudice for principle, "cause divisions" for their own selfish ends. (Rom 16:17-18 .) Fearful is the Lord’s mark upon them — "sensual, having not the Spirit."†5 If we cannot attain unity of opinion — "perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment;"†6 at least let us cultivate unity of spirit — "Whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule; let us mind the same thing." (Php 3:16 .)
Footnotes:
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†1 Pro 8:13; Pro 30:13 . Psa 18:27 . Isa 2:12 . Jer 1:31 — the examples of Pharoah — Exo 9:16 . Haman — Est 7:10 . Nebuchadnezzar — Dan 4:28-33 . Herod — Act 12:21-23 .
†5 Jud 1:19. 1Co 3:3-4 . Let the wisdom of experience given by an accurate observer of himself and the Church, be seriously pondered — ’I am much more sensible of the evil of schism, and of the separating humour, and of gathering parties, and making several sects in the Church, than I was heretofore. For the effects have shown us more of the mischiefs. I am much more sensible, how prone many young professors are to spiritual pride and self-conceitedness, and unruliness, and division, and so prove the grief of their teachers, and firebrands in the Church. I am much more sensible than heretofore of the breadth, and length, and depth of the radical, universal, odious sin of selfishness, and the excellency and necessity of self-denial, and of a public mind, and of loving our neighbour as ourselves.’ — Baxter’s Narrative of his Life and Times.
†6 1Co 1:10 — ’A text’ — says the godly Flavel — ’to be commented upon rather by tears than by words.’ — Sermon on Text.
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn v16Detesteth. This expression does not always mean that the…
Detesteth. This expression does not always mean that the last is worse than the former. (Menochius) --- All the six sins are damnable, but the seventh is here, most so, being against charity and unity, and the devil’s sin. (Worthington) --- Lying seems to be reprobated by three different terms. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv16, 17, 19six . . . seven--a mode of speaking to…
six . . . seven--a mode of speaking to arrest attention (Pro 30:15, Pro 30:18; Job 5:19).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn v16ADMONITIONS AGAINST THE PRACTICE OF SEVEN HATEFUL THINGS, Pro_6:16-19.
ADMONITIONS AGAINST THE PRACTICE OF SEVEN HATEFUL THINGS, Pro_6:16-19.
Here the teacher seeks to guard his charge against personal vices, as he had before against associational ones.
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16-19. Six things… yea, seven, are specified. These are favourite forms with the Hebrews, and the numbers are not always used definitely. The expression is, perhaps, equivalent to our “six or seven,” — meaning several. The origin of this peculiar proverbial form, the using of symbolical numbers, Elster derives from the demands of the parallelism. “The form of parallelism could not, on account of harmony, be sacrificed in any verse; but how should a parallel be found for a number? Since it was not any definite number that was the important thing, relief was found in taking one of the next adjacent numbers as the parallel to that which was chiefly in the mind.”
An abomination unto him — Literally, to his soul. נפשׁ, (Nephesh,) soul or life, is often put for the person himself. The expression is forcible.
A proud look — Literally, eyes of loftiness — indicative of a haughty spirit. Comp. Pro_30:13; Psa_18:27; Psa_131:1.
Wicked imaginations — Plans or purposes.
A false witness — עד שׁקר, ‘hadh sheker, Miller renders, “a deceived witness.” It occurs Pro_12:17; Pro_14:5; Pro_14:25; Pro_19:5; Pro_21:28.
That speaketh lies — Breathes falsehood, or, as we say, “utters lies with every breath” — one who has no regard for truth. Comp. Pro_14:5; Pro_14:25; Pro_19:5; Psa_5:9; Mat_12:34.
There is one parallel worthy of notice between the seven cursed things here and the seven blessed things in Matthew 5. The first and the last of the seven are identical in the two lists. “The Lord hates a proud look “is precisely equivalent to “Blessed are the poor in spirit;” and, “that soweth discord among brethren” is the exact reverse of the “peacemaker.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv16, 17, 1916. six … seven] To specify more precisely the…
16. six … seven] To specify more precisely the traits that go to form the character of the man of Belial, and to lift them into the sphere of God’s judgement, that we may make a true estimate of them, they are these six, yea seven, for they are complete, and the shades of darkness, like the rays of light, are sevenfold, and Jehovah hates them, and they are the abomination of His soul.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv16–18(16) These six things doth the Lord hate .…
(16) These six things doth the Lord hate . . .—Rather, six are the things which He hateth. It is a sort of climax:—He hates six things, but the seventh worse than all. This numerical form of proverb, to which the name of middah is given by later writers, is found also in Pro_30:15-16; Pro_30:18-19; Pro_30:21-23; Pro_30:29-31; Job_5:19; Amo_1:3 - Amo_2:1; Sir_23:16; Sir_25:7; Sir_26:5; Sir_26:28; and in all these instances the number first named is increased afterwards by one. This peculiarity is absent from the instances occurring in Pro_30:7-9; Pro_30:24-28; Sir_25:1-2.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv16–19The whole structure and arrangement of the thoughts which…
The whole structure and arrangement of the thoughts which occur in vers. 16-19 clearly show that this is not an independent section, but one closely allied to that which has just preceded. The object is to show that those evil qualities of deceit and malice which are disastrous to man are equally odious in the sight of Jehovah, and consequently within the scope of the Divine displeasure. These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him. The use of the numerical proverb, though common to the gnomic literature of Persia and Arabia, as Umbreit shows, is by our author confined to this single instance. Other examples occur in our book in the words of Agur the son of Jakeh, (see Pro_30:7-9, Pro_30:24-28) and the midda, the name given by later Jewish writers to this form of proverb, is observable in the apocryphal Book of Ecclesiasticus. (see Pro_23:16 Pro_20:7 and Pro_26:5-28) When, as in the present instance, two numbers are given, the larger number corresponds with the things enumerated. So in Job_5:19. In Am 1 and Am 2, however, there is an exception to this rule, where the numbers appear to be used indefinitely. As to the origin of the numerical proverb, the most probable explanation is that given by Hitzig and adopted by Zockler, namely, that it is due to the exigencies of parallelism. The author first adopts one number optionally, and then a second is employed as a parallel to it. Here, however, the number determined on in the writer"s mind is the larger number seven, and the smaller number six is used as a rhetorical parallel. An examination of the following verses will show that the seven exactly measures the things which are described as odious to the Lord. The Authorized Version, so far as the numbers are concerned, exactly represents the original, which, by the use of the cardinal number "seven" (sheva), and not the ordinal "seventh," which would be sh"vii, shows that the things enumerated are equally an abomination in God"s sight. The view therefore, that the seventh vice is odious to God in an especial degree above the others, is untenable, though it has found defenders in Lowenstein, Bertheau, and von Gerlach, and is supported by the Vulgate, Sex sunt quae odit Dominus, et septimum detestatur anima ejus. All the seven things are execrable, all are equally objects of the Divine abhorrence. Besides, we cannot imagine that the vice of sowing discord among brethren, of ver. 19, is more odious to God than the crime of shedding innocent blood of ver. 17. Unto him (Hebrew, naph"sho); literally, of his soul.
Vers. 16-19. Seven hateful things.
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It is certainly best for us to think most of "whatsoever things are lovely, of good report," etc. but the couleur de rose view of human nature that comes of a fastidious objection to look at the darker shades of character is not only false, but also dangerous, since it tempts us to ignore our own failings and to neglect the duty of rebuking sin and of labouring to better the world. The physician must study pathology. The patient must allow his disease to be examined. We must therefore sometimes set ourselves to the unwelcome task of considering hateful things. Let us look at the general features of the seven abominations.
I THEY ARE DEFINED IN DETAIL. We are not only told that sin is odious. Particular sins are specified. A general confession of sin may be made without any admission of guilt in regard to one"s own special faults. The proud man will confess himself a miserable sinner while he refuses to see the evil of his pride. Therefore we must consider our sins in the concrete. Only thus can we feel true compunction and make practical repentance. Six hateful things are mentioned; then a seventh is added as a sort of after thought, and to suit the requirements of the poetic form of the enigma. It is thus made apparent that the seven is not a definite number intended to exclude all others. Seven is a round number, and the list might easily be lengthened. In fact, we have just seven specimen abominations. Therefore let no man flatter himself because his peculiar failing may happen to be omitted. All transgression of the Law is sin, and is hateful in the sight of God. When particular evils are denounced, remember that they are but specimens of a large and varied and wholly abominable host of sins.
II THEY ARE DESCRIBED IN REFERENCE TO PARTICULAR ORGANS. A look, a tongue, hands, a heart, feet. All sin is the abuse of some power or faculty. The organ is innocent in itself, but it is prostituted to a base purpose. Every part of our nature is susceptible of this degradation. The more powers we have, the greater is our capacity of evil doing as well as of well doing.
III THEY ARE APPARENTLY VERY UNEQUAL IN GUILT. The promiscuous collection of bareful things is surprising. It looks as though they were flung together with little consideration. Possibly this is designed, that we may not so much compare respective degrees of sin but hate and eschew all evil, the least sin being hateful to God. Pride, lying, murder, are in close juxtaposition. It is not asserted that the three are equally guilty. But no measure is given for discriminating between them. The casuistry of such measurement is demoralizing. Moreover, the difference is often not so great as we think. The crime that sends a shock of horror through the country and leads us to regard the doer of it as an inhuman monster, may come from no blacker sink of iniquity than that which sends forth a sin wearing a much less tragic hue.
IV THEY ARE AS A WHOLE CHARACTERIZED BY FEATURES THAT ARE SPECIALLY REPROBATED IN CHRISTIAN ETHICS. The first and the last of the hateful things are the exact opposites of the first and the last of the graces named in the seven Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount. Pride, lying, cruelty, are the opposites of the Christian duties of humility, truthfulness, and charity. The sin of the heart and imagination is condemned as well as that of the hands.
V THEY ARE ALL CONDEMNED ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR HATEFULNESS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. Morality is not created by the flat of the Divine will. It is eternal, necessary, immutable. God is holy because he lives according to it. But God"s relation to morals adds a new sanction. Wickedness then becomes sin. The hatefulness of sin in God"s sight should be to us its greatest condemnation, not only because God will punish it, but because it separates us from the love of God.
Vers. 16-19. A catalogue of abominations.
I WHAT IS AN ABOMINATION? The word (as a verb) is of Roman or pagan origin, and denoted the feeling of abhorrence for what was ill-omened. In the moral sphere all evil conduct is like a bad omen, exciting dread and aversion, because boding calamity. In the direct language of the Bible, referring all things immediately to God, abominations are defined as "things that Jehovah hates, and that are an aversion to his soul" (ver. 16).
II AS ENUMERATION OF THESE DIVINE AVERSIONS. The particular number is explained by the parallelism of Oriental poetry generally. It has no direct religious significance.
1. Proud eyes. Literally, lofty eyes. The grande supercilium, or haughty brow, of the Romans. The sensuous expression contains and implies in every case the inner mood. This Divine aversion for pride is deeply marked in the Bible and in ancient thought generally. Pride is an excess the excess of a virtue of due self-valuation. Therefore it is a disturbing element in the moral world, or God"s order. It tends to disjoint the social system.
2. A lying tongue. The liar is thus a solvent of society. It must break up were lying to become universal, and must decay so far as the vice of individuals becomes the custom of the multitude.
3. Hands of violence and injustice. The tyrant is a usurper of God"s authority. He "plays such tricks... as angels weep at." The judicial murderer sets at naught the justice both of heaven and earth, the rights of God and of men.
4. The malicious, scheming heart. (See on ver. 14) That quick "forge and working shop of thought" (Shakespeare) that we call the imagination may become a very devil"s smithy, a manufactory of the newest implements of mischief, from the patterns of hell.
5. Feet that speed to mischief. All couriers of ill news, eager retailers of slander, all who cannot bear to be forestalled in the hurtful word, who are ambitious of the first deadly blow.
6. The breather of lies. " (Ver. 19) The false witness, the lying informer; all who trade in falsehood, and breathe it as their atmosphere.
7. The mischief maker. The instigator of quarrels between brethren (see on ver. 14).
All who partake of the leavened bread of malice, rather than of the pure, unfermented, and incorruptible bread of sincerity and truth.
1. Our aversions should be God"s aversions.
2. The reasoning antipathy is the counterpart of improper sympathy.
3. Our love and our hate are liable to aberration if not governed by reason and religion.
4. Instinctive antipathy means only that we have found in another something that is opposed to our personal sense of well being; conscientious antipathy, that we have found that which is opposed to the order of God"s world. J.
Vers. 16, 17. The condemnation of pride.
The simple, strong language of the text tells us that pride is a thing which God hates. We should therefore make some inquiries concerning it, and know all we can learn about it; for who would like to have in his heart and life that which is positively odious to the Father of his spirit?
I ITS SEAT IS IN THE SOUL. The wise man speaks of the "proud look" or the "haughty eyes," but he specifies this as it is a most common manifestation of the evil which lies within. Its seat is in the soul, in the lurking thought, in the secret sentiment, in the nursed and nourished convictions, in the false idea. It is in the habit of the heart; it is embedded in the character.
II IT IS MANIFOLD IN ITS MANIFESTATION. It is most often shown, as intimated, in the proud look, but it may make itself felt in
(1) the disdainful tone;
(2) the contemptuous silence or non-observance;
(3) the cutting sentence;
(4) the exclusive action.
III IT SPRINGS FROM MANY SOURCES. It may arise from:
1. A consciousness of physical superiority elegance of figure, beauty of face, muscular strength, etc.
2. Consciousness of mental acquisitions intellectual force, knowledge, eloquence, etc.
3. Social prominence rank, office, distinction.
4. Recollection of great services rendered.
IV IT IS HATEFUL IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. This thing "doth the Lord hate." He hates it, for doubtless he sees in it a heinousness and enormity we do not perceive. But he may hate it because:
1. It is an essentially false thing. We give ourselves credit for that which is not due. "What have we that we have not received"?" The pedestal on which we stand is a false imagining.
2. It is an utterly unbecoming thing. Who are we, the sinful children of men, the body of whom is deserving of condemnation, that we should look down superciliously on others? In any human soul pride is unbecoming, unlovely.
3. It is a cruel thing. It wounds, and it wounds the most sensitive spirits worst. We place, by itself, as demanding particular reference, one evil in pride for which God condemns it, viz.
V IT SHUTS US OUT OF THE KINGDOM OF HIS GRACE. How can we possibly go in humility and faith to the redeeming Lord, our Saviour, while pride occupies the throne? The man in whom the proud spirit dwells stands afar from the salvation of God. "The Lord resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. C.
Vers. 16, 17. The Divine dislike of deceitfulness.
God hates "a lying tongue;" (see Pro_12:22) "Lying lips are abomination to the Lord." We must consider
I WHAT IS THE DECEITFULNESS WHICH GOD DETESTS. It is evident that the "lying tongue" and the "lying lips" are mentioned as the principal instrument of the soul in the sin which is rebuked. It is the sin itself which is the object of the Divine displeasure. That sin is deceitfulness; conveying false impressions to the mind of our neighbour, the wilful blinding of his eyes by untrue words or by false actions. This may be done by:
1. Downright falsehood the most shameless and shocking of all ways.
2. Covert insinuation or innuendo the most cowardly and despicable of all ways.
3. Prevarication, the utterance of a half-truth which is also half a lie the most mischievous, because the most plausible and last detected, of all ways.
4. Acted untruth one of the most common forms of falsehood, and perhaps as hurtful to the sinner as any, because it avoids apparent guilt, while it really is as culpable as most, if not as any, of these manifestations of deceit.
II WHY IT IS SO ODIOUS TO THE RIGHTEOUS FATHER. What makes it "hateful," "abominable in his sight"?
1. It is inherently heinous. The soul has to make a very decided departure from rectitude to commit this sin. We may say of it, "Oh, "tis foul! "tis unnatural!" It is a "strange" thing in the view of the Holy One and the True. It is something which comes into direct and sharp collision with his Divine principles; which, in its own nature, is a painful, oppressive spectacle to his pure spirit. He loves and lives and desires truth in the inward parts;" and with the same intensity with which be loves truth, he must hate, with immeasurable abomination, every shape and form of falsehood.
2. It is ruinous to the soul that practises it. Nothing so surely leads down to spiritual destruction as this sin. It breaks down the walls and breaks up the very foundation of all character. For those who habitually decline from the truth, in word or deed, are constantly teaching themselves to consider that there is nothing sacred in truth at all; they are sliding down the incline at the foot of which is the sceptic"s question, "What is truth?" A man who is false in language or in action is poisoning his soul by degrees; he is a spiritual suicide.
3. It is mischievous to society. "Putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour; for we are members one of another. " Human society depends on truthful-Hess in its members for its prosperity, comfort, and almost for its very life. What if we constantly doubted one another"s word? The men of truth and trustworthiness are the salt of society. The men of lying tongue are its pest and its peril. Our neighbours have a right to claim of us that we shall put away lying lips and shall "speak the truth in love." God, who cares for the well being of this human world, hates to see his children weakening, wounding, endangering that world of man by falsehood and deceit.
III WHAT GOD WILL DO WITH THOSE WHO ARE GUILTY. He will surely punish them. He does so
(1) by making them bear their penalty in the shape of spiritual demoralization;
(2) by bringing down upon them first the distrust and then the reprobation of their fellows;
(3) by excluding them firmly and finally from his own fellowship. He that does not "speak the truth in his heart" may not abide in his tabernacle here; (Psa_15:1) he that deserves to be denominated a liar will be banished from his presence hereafter. C. (Rev_22:15)
Vers. 16-19. The brand of God.
God placed a brand on the first murderer"s brow, and he carried the curse with him to his grave. He does not mark us thus now with such signs of guilt; nevertheless, he has made it clear as the day that there are some men who are the objects of his very high displeasure. We know from the text that among these are
I MEN OF A PROUD HEART. (See above)
II MEN OF A FALSE SPIRIT. (See above)
III MEN THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OTHERS" DEATH. (Ver. 17) Those whose "hands shed innocent blood" are strongly condemned of him. These include, not only
(1) men guilty of murder and manslaughter in the literal sense, but also
(2) those who are responsible for the death of the innocent through culpable carelessness (e.g. an indifferent and negligent judge or reckless captain), and also
(3) those who, by their heartlessness in family or social life, crush the spirit and shorten the life.
IV MEN THAT PLOT MISCHIEF. "A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations" (ver. 18). These are they who use their inventive faculties, not for the good of their race, nor for the maintenance of their families, but for the base and shameful purpose of bringing some of their fellows into distress, if not into ruin; they contrive their overthrow only to enjoy their discomfiture.
V CRUEL EXECUTIONERS or WRATH. "Those whose feet are swift in running to mischief" (ver. 18); these are they who take a savage delight in being the instruments of punishment the gaoler, the soldier, the executioner, who gloat over their work of severity or blood.
VI FALSE WITNESSES. (Ver. 19) One of the most solemn and responsible positions a man can occupy is the witness box; he stands there, invoking the dread Name of the Eternal himself to cause justice to be done. If then he perjures himself, and "speaketh lies" when actually under oath, he defies his Maker, perverts justice, wrongs the innocent or releases the guilty, is disloyal to his country, outrages his own conscience. Well may he be among those whom God especially condemns.
VII MEN THAT DISTURB HARMONY. "He that soweth discord among brethren" (ver. 19). "Blessed are the peacemakers," said the Master. "Cursed are the mischief makers," says the text. If we do not actively promote peace and good will, surely we need not be the abettors of strife. There are two degrees of guilt here: there is the mischief making which is due to culpable thoughtlessness, repeating words which should have been allowed to fall to the ground, unintentional but decided misrepresentation, etc.; and there is the darker wrong, to which a heavier penalty is due, deliberate and wanton disturbance of previous harmony. This is
(1) bad in the social circle,
(2) worse in the home,
(3) worst in the Church of Christ.
Let it be remembered that:
1. God hates these things; they are utterly abhorrent to him. He cannot regard them without Divine repugnance.
2. God is "much displeased" with those who do them; his holy and awful wrath must extend to those who "do such things.
3. God will surely punish those who impenitently persist in them. C. (Rom_2:2-9)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v16These six things doth the Lord hate.
Pro_6:16-19
These six things doth the Lord hate.
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The seven abominable things
A catalogue of evils specially odious to the Infinite One.
I. Haughty bearing. A proud look. Pride is frequently represented in the Bible as an offence to the Holy God. Haughtiness is an abomination, because it implies--
1. Self-ignorance.
2. Unkindness.
3. Irreverence.
II. Verbal falsehood. A lying tongue.
1. Falsehood always implies a wrong heart. A pure heart supplies no motive for falsehood. Vanity, avarice, ambition, cowardice are the parents and patrons of lies.
2. Falsehood always has a bad social tendency. It disappoints expectations, shakes confidence, loosens the very foundations of social order.
III. Heartless cruelty. Hands that shed innocent blood. Cruelty implies--
1. An utter lack of sympathy with Gods creatures.
2. An utter lack of sympathy with Gods mind. He who inflicts pain is out of sympathy both with the universe and with his Maker.
IV. Vicious scheming. A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations. There are some hearts so bad that they are ever inventing some evil thing. Illustrate by antediluvian man.
V. Mischievous eagerness. Feet swift in running to mischief. They not only do mischief, but they do it eagerly, with ready vigilance; they have a greed for it.
VI. Social slander. The slanderer is amongst the greatest of social curses. He robs his fellow-creature of his greatest treasure--his own reputation, and the loving confidence of his friends.
VII. Disturbing strife. And he that soweth discord among brethren. He who by tale-bearing, ill-natured stories, and wicked inventions produces the disruptions of friendship, is abhorrent to that God who desires His creatures to live in love and unity. This subject serves to show three things--
1. The moral hideousness of the world. These seven evils everywhere abound.
2. The immaculate purity of God. He hates these things. Therefore they are foreign to himself.
3. The true mission of the godly--to endeavour to rid the world of the evils offensive to Heaven. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv16–17six things that Yahweh hates, seven that
six things that Yahweh hates, seven that
This whole verse is a parallelism that emphasizes that God hates several things and not just one. AT: "six things that Yahwah hates; seven things that" (See: Parallelism)
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that are disgusting to him
"that make him feel disgust" or "that make you disgusting according to him"
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv16, 196:16-19 The first line gives a number followed by…
6:16-19 The first line gives a number followed by a second line that increases that number by one. This device (called number parallelism) introduces a list of items and often, as here, draws attention to the climactic final item (see also 30:15-23).
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv18–19 Meaning, the raging affections, which carry a man away…
Meaning, the raging affections, which carry a man away in such sort that he cannot tell what he doeth.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv16–19 Pro 6:16 These six [things] doth the LORD hate:…
Pro 6:16 These six [things] doth the LORD hate: yea, seven [are] an abomination unto him:
Ver. 16. These six things doth the Lord hate.] That is, He detesteth, damneth, punisheth them in the sluggard, whose soul is the sink of all these ensuing evils. Where note, that sin makes wicked men the object of God’s hatred; the saints, of his pity: as we hate poison in a toad, but we pity it in a man; in the one, it is their nature, in the other, their disease.
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Yea, seven are an abomination to him.] Or, That seventh {a} his soul abhorreth, that sowing of discord among brethren heighteneth and completeth his hatred of the rest.
{a} Septimum abominatio animae illius.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv16–19 Hate, to wit, above many other sins, which have…
Hate, to wit, above many other sins, which have a worse name in the world.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv16–19 A proud look,.... Or, "eyes elated" (d); scorning to…
A proud look,.... Or, "eyes elated" (d); scorning to look down upon others; or looking upon them with disdain; or reckoning them as unworthy to be looked upon, having an high opinion of their own worth and merit. Pride is the first of the hateful things mentioned; it being the first sin committed, as is probable, the sin of the angels, and of the first man; and is a predominant evil in human nature, and is directly opposite to God and to his nature, and against which he sets himself; for "he resisteth the proud", Jam 4:6; the pride of the heart shows itself in the eyes, or by the looks of a man; Gersom says, the phrase denotes impudence and haughtiness;
a lying tongue; that is the second of the hateful things; a tongue speaking falsehood, knowingly and willingly, with an intention to deceive others; to hurt the character of a neighbour, or to flatter a friend, is a most detestable evil; it ought to be so to men, it must be so to God, who is a God of truth: nor is there anything in which a man more resembles the devil, who is the father of lies;
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and hands that shed innocent blood; human blood; and that of persons who have not been guilty of any capital sin, for which they ought to die by the laws of God or men, and yet shed or poured out as common water; such hands must be defiled, and such men must be hateful to God, they destroying his image, and being like to the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning. These "three" sins are plainly to be seen in the son of Belial, antichrist, who exalts himself above all that is called God, the kings and princes of the earth; he and his followers speak lies in hypocrisy; and is the whore that is drunk with the blood of the saints, Th2 2:4.
(d) "oculi clati", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv16, 18 Hate - Above many other sins which have a…
Hate - Above many other sins which have a worse name in the world.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v16 Verse 16. These six - doth the Lord hate]
Verse 16. These six - doth the Lord hate]
1. A proud look - exalted eyes; those who will not condescend to look on the rest of mankind.
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2. A lying tongue - he who neither loves nor tells truth.
3. Hands that shed innocent blood, whether by murder or by battery.
4. A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations - the heart that fabricates such, lays the foundation, builds upon it, and completes the superstructure of iniquity.
5. Feet that be swift in running to mischief - he who works iniquity with greediness.
6. A false witness that speaketh lies - one who, even on his oath before a court of justice, tells any thing but the truth.
Seven are an abomination unto him] נפשו naphsho, "to his soul." The seventh is, he that soweth discord among brethren - he who troubles the peace of a family, of a village, of the state; all who, by lies and misrepresentations, strive to make men's minds evil-affected towards their brethren.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v16 Pro 6:16-19. These six things — Generally found in…
Pro 6:16-19. These six things — Generally found in those men of Belial, described in the foregoing verses; doth the Lord hate — Namely, above many other sins, which have a worse name in the world; a proud look — Pride of heart, which commonly discovers itself by a man’s looks and gestures; a lying tongue — Lying and deceit in his common conversation. A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations — Whose practice it is to design and contrive wickedness. Feet that be swift in running to mischief — Such as greedily and readily execute their wicked designs, without any restraint or delay. A false witness that speaketh lies — Namely, in judgment: whereby this differs from the former lying, Pro 6:17; and him that soweth discord among brethren — That is, dear relations or friends.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v16 A new section, but not a new subject. The…
A new section, but not a new subject. The closing words, “he that soweth discord” (Pro 6:19, compare Pro 6:14), lead us to identify the sketch as taken from the same character. With the recognized Hebrew form of climax (see Pro 30:15, Pro 30:18, Pro 30:24; Amo 1:1-15; 2; Job 5:19), the teacher here enumerates six qualities as detestable, and the seventh as worse than all (seven represents completeness), but all the seven in this instance belong to one man, the man of Belial Pro 6:12.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain On v16 Man conceives of God in his heart as "such…
Man conceives of God in his heart as "such a one as himself" (Psa 50:21 ), looking with indifference at sin. Here therefore Solomon names six — yea — seven (Compare Pro 30:15-18 ) abominations (most of them mentioned in the preceding list) which the LORD hateth — a proud look,†1 a lying tongue,†2 a blood-stained hand.†3 And, lest we should think, that he "looketh only on the outward appearance;" the heart, active in devising wickedness,†4 is brought out; and its ready organ, the feet swift in running to mischief. (Pro 1:16 . Isa 59:7 . Rom 3:15 .) How hateful also is the false witness (Zec 8:17 ), surely reserved by him for judgment! (Pro 19:5 . Zec 5:4 . Mal 3:5 .) Let the self-willed separatist remember the double stamp (Pro 6:14, Pro 6:19 ) upon him that soweth discord among brethren. If the heavenly "dew descends upon the brethren that dwell together in unity" (Psa 133:1-3 .), a withering blast will fall on those, who, mistaking prejudice for principle, "cause divisions" for their own selfish ends. (Rom 16:17-18 .) Fearful is the Lord’s mark upon them — "sensual, having not the Spirit."†5 If we cannot attain unity of opinion — "perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment;"†6 at least let us cultivate unity of spirit — "Whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule; let us mind the same thing." (Php 3:16 .)
Footnotes:
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†1 Pro 8:13; Pro 30:13 . Psa 18:27 . Isa 2:12 . Jer 1:31 — the examples of Pharoah — Exo 9:16 . Haman — Est 7:10 . Nebuchadnezzar — Dan 4:28-33 . Herod — Act 12:21-23 .
†2 Pro 12:22. Psa 5:6 . Rev 21:8 . Gehazi — 2Ki 5:25-27 . Ananias and Sapphira — Act 5:1-10 .
†3 Gen 9:6. Cain — Gen 4:8-12 . Manasseh — 2Ki 21:15-16 . Specially the murderers of his dear Son — Mat 23:31-38 .
†4 Ahithophel — 2Sa 16:20-23 ; 2Sa 17:23 . Mic 2:1 . 2Pe 2:14 .
†5 Jud 1:19. 1Co 3:3-4 . Let the wisdom of experience given by an accurate observer of himself and the Church, be seriously pondered — ’I am much more sensible of the evil of schism, and of the separating humour, and of gathering parties, and making several sects in the Church, than I was heretofore. For the effects have shown us more of the mischiefs. I am much more sensible, how prone many young professors are to spiritual pride and self-conceitedness, and unruliness, and division, and so prove the grief of their teachers, and firebrands in the Church. I am much more sensible than heretofore of the breadth, and length, and depth of the radical, universal, odious sin of selfishness, and the excellency and necessity of self-denial, and of a public mind, and of loving our neighbour as ourselves.’ — Baxter’s Narrative of his Life and Times.
†6 1Co 1:10 — ’A text’ — says the godly Flavel — ’to be commented upon rather by tears than by words.’ — Sermon on Text.
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v16 Detesteth. This expression does not always mean that the…
Detesteth. This expression does not always mean that the last is worse than the former. (Menochius) --- All the six sins are damnable, but the seventh is here, most so, being against charity and unity, and the devil’s sin. (Worthington) --- Lying seems to be reprobated by three different terms. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv16, 17, 19 six . . . seven--a mode of speaking to…
six . . . seven--a mode of speaking to arrest attention (Pro 30:15, Pro 30:18; Job 5:19).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v16 ADMONITIONS AGAINST THE PRACTICE OF SEVEN HATEFUL THINGS, Pro_6:16-19.
ADMONITIONS AGAINST THE PRACTICE OF SEVEN HATEFUL THINGS, Pro_6:16-19.
Here the teacher seeks to guard his charge against personal vices, as he had before against associational ones.
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16-19. Six things… yea, seven, are specified. These are favourite forms with the Hebrews, and the numbers are not always used definitely. The expression is, perhaps, equivalent to our “six or seven,” — meaning several. The origin of this peculiar proverbial form, the using of symbolical numbers, Elster derives from the demands of the parallelism. “The form of parallelism could not, on account of harmony, be sacrificed in any verse; but how should a parallel be found for a number? Since it was not any definite number that was the important thing, relief was found in taking one of the next adjacent numbers as the parallel to that which was chiefly in the mind.”
An abomination unto him — Literally, to his soul. נפשׁ, (Nephesh,) soul or life, is often put for the person himself. The expression is forcible.
A proud look — Literally, eyes of loftiness — indicative of a haughty spirit. Comp. Pro_30:13; Psa_18:27; Psa_131:1.
Wicked imaginations — Plans or purposes.
A false witness — עד שׁקר, ‘hadh sheker, Miller renders, “a deceived witness.” It occurs Pro_12:17; Pro_14:5; Pro_14:25; Pro_19:5; Pro_21:28.
That speaketh lies — Breathes falsehood, or, as we say, “utters lies with every breath” — one who has no regard for truth. Comp. Pro_14:5; Pro_14:25; Pro_19:5; Psa_5:9; Mat_12:34.
There is one parallel worthy of notice between the seven cursed things here and the seven blessed things in Matthew 5. The first and the last of the seven are identical in the two lists. “The Lord hates a proud look “is precisely equivalent to “Blessed are the poor in spirit;” and, “that soweth discord among brethren” is the exact reverse of the “peacemaker.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv16, 17, 19 16. six … seven] To specify more precisely the…
16. six … seven] To specify more precisely the traits that go to form the character of the man of Belial, and to lift them into the sphere of God’s judgement, that we may make a true estimate of them, they are these six, yea seven, for they are complete, and the shades of darkness, like the rays of light, are sevenfold, and Jehovah hates them, and they are the abomination of His soul.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv16–18 (16) These six things doth the Lord hate .…
(16) These six things doth the Lord hate . . .—Rather, six are the things which He hateth. It is a sort of climax:—He hates six things, but the seventh worse than all. This numerical form of proverb, to which the name of middah is given by later writers, is found also in Pro_30:15-16; Pro_30:18-19; Pro_30:21-23; Pro_30:29-31; Job_5:19; Amo_1:3 - Amo_2:1; Sir_23:16; Sir_25:7; Sir_26:5; Sir_26:28; and in all these instances the number first named is increased afterwards by one. This peculiarity is absent from the instances occurring in Pro_30:7-9; Pro_30:24-28; Sir_25:1-2.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv16–19 The whole structure and arrangement of the thoughts which…
The whole structure and arrangement of the thoughts which occur in vers. 16-19 clearly show that this is not an independent section, but one closely allied to that which has just preceded. The object is to show that those evil qualities of deceit and malice which are disastrous to man are equally odious in the sight of Jehovah, and consequently within the scope of the Divine displeasure. These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him. The use of the numerical proverb, though common to the gnomic literature of Persia and Arabia, as Umbreit shows, is by our author confined to this single instance. Other examples occur in our book in the words of Agur the son of Jakeh, (see Pro_30:7-9, Pro_30:24-28) and the midda, the name given by later Jewish writers to this form of proverb, is observable in the apocryphal Book of Ecclesiasticus. (see Pro_23:16 Pro_20:7 and Pro_26:5-28) When, as in the present instance, two numbers are given, the larger number corresponds with the things enumerated. So in Job_5:19. In Am 1 and Am 2, however, there is an exception to this rule, where the numbers appear to be used indefinitely. As to the origin of the numerical proverb, the most probable explanation is that given by Hitzig and adopted by Zockler, namely, that it is due to the exigencies of parallelism. The author first adopts one number optionally, and then a second is employed as a parallel to it. Here, however, the number determined on in the writer"s mind is the larger number seven, and the smaller number six is used as a rhetorical parallel. An examination of the following verses will show that the seven exactly measures the things which are described as odious to the Lord. The Authorized Version, so far as the numbers are concerned, exactly represents the original, which, by the use of the cardinal number "seven" (sheva), and not the ordinal "seventh," which would be sh"vii, shows that the things enumerated are equally an abomination in God"s sight. The view therefore, that the seventh vice is odious to God in an especial degree above the others, is untenable, though it has found defenders in Lowenstein, Bertheau, and von Gerlach, and is supported by the Vulgate, Sex sunt quae odit Dominus, et septimum detestatur anima ejus. All the seven things are execrable, all are equally objects of the Divine abhorrence. Besides, we cannot imagine that the vice of sowing discord among brethren, of ver. 19, is more odious to God than the crime of shedding innocent blood of ver. 17. Unto him (Hebrew, naph"sho); literally, of his soul.
Vers. 16-19. Seven hateful things.
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It is certainly best for us to think most of "whatsoever things are lovely, of good report," etc. but the couleur de rose view of human nature that comes of a fastidious objection to look at the darker shades of character is not only false, but also dangerous, since it tempts us to ignore our own failings and to neglect the duty of rebuking sin and of labouring to better the world. The physician must study pathology. The patient must allow his disease to be examined. We must therefore sometimes set ourselves to the unwelcome task of considering hateful things. Let us look at the general features of the seven abominations.
I THEY ARE DEFINED IN DETAIL. We are not only told that sin is odious. Particular sins are specified. A general confession of sin may be made without any admission of guilt in regard to one"s own special faults. The proud man will confess himself a miserable sinner while he refuses to see the evil of his pride. Therefore we must consider our sins in the concrete. Only thus can we feel true compunction and make practical repentance. Six hateful things are mentioned; then a seventh is added as a sort of after thought, and to suit the requirements of the poetic form of the enigma. It is thus made apparent that the seven is not a definite number intended to exclude all others. Seven is a round number, and the list might easily be lengthened. In fact, we have just seven specimen abominations. Therefore let no man flatter himself because his peculiar failing may happen to be omitted. All transgression of the Law is sin, and is hateful in the sight of God. When particular evils are denounced, remember that they are but specimens of a large and varied and wholly abominable host of sins.
II THEY ARE DESCRIBED IN REFERENCE TO PARTICULAR ORGANS. A look, a tongue, hands, a heart, feet. All sin is the abuse of some power or faculty. The organ is innocent in itself, but it is prostituted to a base purpose. Every part of our nature is susceptible of this degradation. The more powers we have, the greater is our capacity of evil doing as well as of well doing.
III THEY ARE APPARENTLY VERY UNEQUAL IN GUILT. The promiscuous collection of bareful things is surprising. It looks as though they were flung together with little consideration. Possibly this is designed, that we may not so much compare respective degrees of sin but hate and eschew all evil, the least sin being hateful to God. Pride, lying, murder, are in close juxtaposition. It is not asserted that the three are equally guilty. But no measure is given for discriminating between them. The casuistry of such measurement is demoralizing. Moreover, the difference is often not so great as we think. The crime that sends a shock of horror through the country and leads us to regard the doer of it as an inhuman monster, may come from no blacker sink of iniquity than that which sends forth a sin wearing a much less tragic hue.
IV THEY ARE AS A WHOLE CHARACTERIZED BY FEATURES THAT ARE SPECIALLY REPROBATED IN CHRISTIAN ETHICS. The first and the last of the hateful things are the exact opposites of the first and the last of the graces named in the seven Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount. Pride, lying, cruelty, are the opposites of the Christian duties of humility, truthfulness, and charity. The sin of the heart and imagination is condemned as well as that of the hands.
V THEY ARE ALL CONDEMNED ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR HATEFULNESS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. Morality is not created by the flat of the Divine will. It is eternal, necessary, immutable. God is holy because he lives according to it. But God"s relation to morals adds a new sanction. Wickedness then becomes sin. The hatefulness of sin in God"s sight should be to us its greatest condemnation, not only because God will punish it, but because it separates us from the love of God.
Vers. 16-19. A catalogue of abominations.
I WHAT IS AN ABOMINATION? The word (as a verb) is of Roman or pagan origin, and denoted the feeling of abhorrence for what was ill-omened. In the moral sphere all evil conduct is like a bad omen, exciting dread and aversion, because boding calamity. In the direct language of the Bible, referring all things immediately to God, abominations are defined as "things that Jehovah hates, and that are an aversion to his soul" (ver. 16).
II AS ENUMERATION OF THESE DIVINE AVERSIONS. The particular number is explained by the parallelism of Oriental poetry generally. It has no direct religious significance.
1. Proud eyes. Literally, lofty eyes. The grande supercilium, or haughty brow, of the Romans. The sensuous expression contains and implies in every case the inner mood. This Divine aversion for pride is deeply marked in the Bible and in ancient thought generally. Pride is an excess the excess of a virtue of due self-valuation. Therefore it is a disturbing element in the moral world, or God"s order. It tends to disjoint the social system.
2. A lying tongue. The liar is thus a solvent of society. It must break up were lying to become universal, and must decay so far as the vice of individuals becomes the custom of the multitude.
3. Hands of violence and injustice. The tyrant is a usurper of God"s authority. He "plays such tricks... as angels weep at." The judicial murderer sets at naught the justice both of heaven and earth, the rights of God and of men.
4. The malicious, scheming heart. (See on ver. 14) That quick "forge and working shop of thought" (Shakespeare) that we call the imagination may become a very devil"s smithy, a manufactory of the newest implements of mischief, from the patterns of hell.
5. Feet that speed to mischief. All couriers of ill news, eager retailers of slander, all who cannot bear to be forestalled in the hurtful word, who are ambitious of the first deadly blow.
6. The breather of lies. " (Ver. 19) The false witness, the lying informer; all who trade in falsehood, and breathe it as their atmosphere.
7. The mischief maker. The instigator of quarrels between brethren (see on ver. 14).
All who partake of the leavened bread of malice, rather than of the pure, unfermented, and incorruptible bread of sincerity and truth.
1. Our aversions should be God"s aversions.
2. The reasoning antipathy is the counterpart of improper sympathy.
3. Our love and our hate are liable to aberration if not governed by reason and religion.
4. Instinctive antipathy means only that we have found in another something that is opposed to our personal sense of well being; conscientious antipathy, that we have found that which is opposed to the order of God"s world. J.
Vers. 16, 17. The condemnation of pride.
The simple, strong language of the text tells us that pride is a thing which God hates. We should therefore make some inquiries concerning it, and know all we can learn about it; for who would like to have in his heart and life that which is positively odious to the Father of his spirit?
I ITS SEAT IS IN THE SOUL. The wise man speaks of the "proud look" or the "haughty eyes," but he specifies this as it is a most common manifestation of the evil which lies within. Its seat is in the soul, in the lurking thought, in the secret sentiment, in the nursed and nourished convictions, in the false idea. It is in the habit of the heart; it is embedded in the character.
II IT IS MANIFOLD IN ITS MANIFESTATION. It is most often shown, as intimated, in the proud look, but it may make itself felt in
(1) the disdainful tone;
(2) the contemptuous silence or non-observance;
(3) the cutting sentence;
(4) the exclusive action.
III IT SPRINGS FROM MANY SOURCES. It may arise from:
1. A consciousness of physical superiority elegance of figure, beauty of face, muscular strength, etc.
2. Consciousness of mental acquisitions intellectual force, knowledge, eloquence, etc.
3. Social prominence rank, office, distinction.
4. Recollection of great services rendered.
IV IT IS HATEFUL IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. This thing "doth the Lord hate." He hates it, for doubtless he sees in it a heinousness and enormity we do not perceive. But he may hate it because:
1. It is an essentially false thing. We give ourselves credit for that which is not due. "What have we that we have not received"?" The pedestal on which we stand is a false imagining.
2. It is an utterly unbecoming thing. Who are we, the sinful children of men, the body of whom is deserving of condemnation, that we should look down superciliously on others? In any human soul pride is unbecoming, unlovely.
3. It is a cruel thing. It wounds, and it wounds the most sensitive spirits worst. We place, by itself, as demanding particular reference, one evil in pride for which God condemns it, viz.
V IT SHUTS US OUT OF THE KINGDOM OF HIS GRACE. How can we possibly go in humility and faith to the redeeming Lord, our Saviour, while pride occupies the throne? The man in whom the proud spirit dwells stands afar from the salvation of God. "The Lord resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. C.
Vers. 16, 17. The Divine dislike of deceitfulness.
God hates "a lying tongue;" (see Pro_12:22) "Lying lips are abomination to the Lord." We must consider
I WHAT IS THE DECEITFULNESS WHICH GOD DETESTS. It is evident that the "lying tongue" and the "lying lips" are mentioned as the principal instrument of the soul in the sin which is rebuked. It is the sin itself which is the object of the Divine displeasure. That sin is deceitfulness; conveying false impressions to the mind of our neighbour, the wilful blinding of his eyes by untrue words or by false actions. This may be done by:
1. Downright falsehood the most shameless and shocking of all ways.
2. Covert insinuation or innuendo the most cowardly and despicable of all ways.
3. Prevarication, the utterance of a half-truth which is also half a lie the most mischievous, because the most plausible and last detected, of all ways.
4. Acted untruth one of the most common forms of falsehood, and perhaps as hurtful to the sinner as any, because it avoids apparent guilt, while it really is as culpable as most, if not as any, of these manifestations of deceit.
II WHY IT IS SO ODIOUS TO THE RIGHTEOUS FATHER. What makes it "hateful," "abominable in his sight"?
1. It is inherently heinous. The soul has to make a very decided departure from rectitude to commit this sin. We may say of it, "Oh, "tis foul! "tis unnatural!" It is a "strange" thing in the view of the Holy One and the True. It is something which comes into direct and sharp collision with his Divine principles; which, in its own nature, is a painful, oppressive spectacle to his pure spirit. He loves and lives and desires truth in the inward parts;" and with the same intensity with which be loves truth, he must hate, with immeasurable abomination, every shape and form of falsehood.
2. It is ruinous to the soul that practises it. Nothing so surely leads down to spiritual destruction as this sin. It breaks down the walls and breaks up the very foundation of all character. For those who habitually decline from the truth, in word or deed, are constantly teaching themselves to consider that there is nothing sacred in truth at all; they are sliding down the incline at the foot of which is the sceptic"s question, "What is truth?" A man who is false in language or in action is poisoning his soul by degrees; he is a spiritual suicide.
3. It is mischievous to society. "Putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour; for we are members one of another. " Human society depends on truthful-Hess in its members for its prosperity, comfort, and almost for its very life. What if we constantly doubted one another"s word? The men of truth and trustworthiness are the salt of society. The men of lying tongue are its pest and its peril. Our neighbours have a right to claim of us that we shall put away lying lips and shall "speak the truth in love." God, who cares for the well being of this human world, hates to see his children weakening, wounding, endangering that world of man by falsehood and deceit.
III WHAT GOD WILL DO WITH THOSE WHO ARE GUILTY. He will surely punish them. He does so
(1) by making them bear their penalty in the shape of spiritual demoralization;
(2) by bringing down upon them first the distrust and then the reprobation of their fellows;
(3) by excluding them firmly and finally from his own fellowship. He that does not "speak the truth in his heart" may not abide in his tabernacle here; (Psa_15:1) he that deserves to be denominated a liar will be banished from his presence hereafter. C. (Rev_22:15)
Vers. 16-19. The brand of God.
God placed a brand on the first murderer"s brow, and he carried the curse with him to his grave. He does not mark us thus now with such signs of guilt; nevertheless, he has made it clear as the day that there are some men who are the objects of his very high displeasure. We know from the text that among these are
I MEN OF A PROUD HEART. (See above)
II MEN OF A FALSE SPIRIT. (See above)
III MEN THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OTHERS" DEATH. (Ver. 17) Those whose "hands shed innocent blood" are strongly condemned of him. These include, not only
(1) men guilty of murder and manslaughter in the literal sense, but also
(2) those who are responsible for the death of the innocent through culpable carelessness (e.g. an indifferent and negligent judge or reckless captain), and also
(3) those who, by their heartlessness in family or social life, crush the spirit and shorten the life.
IV MEN THAT PLOT MISCHIEF. "A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations" (ver. 18). These are they who use their inventive faculties, not for the good of their race, nor for the maintenance of their families, but for the base and shameful purpose of bringing some of their fellows into distress, if not into ruin; they contrive their overthrow only to enjoy their discomfiture.
V CRUEL EXECUTIONERS or WRATH. "Those whose feet are swift in running to mischief" (ver. 18); these are they who take a savage delight in being the instruments of punishment the gaoler, the soldier, the executioner, who gloat over their work of severity or blood.
VI FALSE WITNESSES. (Ver. 19) One of the most solemn and responsible positions a man can occupy is the witness box; he stands there, invoking the dread Name of the Eternal himself to cause justice to be done. If then he perjures himself, and "speaketh lies" when actually under oath, he defies his Maker, perverts justice, wrongs the innocent or releases the guilty, is disloyal to his country, outrages his own conscience. Well may he be among those whom God especially condemns.
VII MEN THAT DISTURB HARMONY. "He that soweth discord among brethren" (ver. 19). "Blessed are the peacemakers," said the Master. "Cursed are the mischief makers," says the text. If we do not actively promote peace and good will, surely we need not be the abettors of strife. There are two degrees of guilt here: there is the mischief making which is due to culpable thoughtlessness, repeating words which should have been allowed to fall to the ground, unintentional but decided misrepresentation, etc.; and there is the darker wrong, to which a heavier penalty is due, deliberate and wanton disturbance of previous harmony. This is
(1) bad in the social circle,
(2) worse in the home,
(3) worst in the Church of Christ.
Let it be remembered that:
1. God hates these things; they are utterly abhorrent to him. He cannot regard them without Divine repugnance.
2. God is "much displeased" with those who do them; his holy and awful wrath must extend to those who "do such things.
3. God will surely punish those who impenitently persist in them. C. (Rom_2:2-9)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v16 These six things doth the Lord hate.
Pro_6:16-19
These six things doth the Lord hate.
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The seven abominable things
A catalogue of evils specially odious to the Infinite One.
I. Haughty bearing. A proud look. Pride is frequently represented in the Bible as an offence to the Holy God. Haughtiness is an abomination, because it implies--
1. Self-ignorance.
2. Unkindness.
3. Irreverence.
II. Verbal falsehood. A lying tongue.
1. Falsehood always implies a wrong heart. A pure heart supplies no motive for falsehood. Vanity, avarice, ambition, cowardice are the parents and patrons of lies.
2. Falsehood always has a bad social tendency. It disappoints expectations, shakes confidence, loosens the very foundations of social order.
III. Heartless cruelty. Hands that shed innocent blood. Cruelty implies--
1. An utter lack of sympathy with Gods creatures.
2. An utter lack of sympathy with Gods mind. He who inflicts pain is out of sympathy both with the universe and with his Maker.
IV. Vicious scheming. A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations. There are some hearts so bad that they are ever inventing some evil thing. Illustrate by antediluvian man.
V. Mischievous eagerness. Feet swift in running to mischief. They not only do mischief, but they do it eagerly, with ready vigilance; they have a greed for it.
VI. Social slander. The slanderer is amongst the greatest of social curses. He robs his fellow-creature of his greatest treasure--his own reputation, and the loving confidence of his friends.
VII. Disturbing strife. And he that soweth discord among brethren. He who by tale-bearing, ill-natured stories, and wicked inventions produces the disruptions of friendship, is abhorrent to that God who desires His creatures to live in love and unity. This subject serves to show three things--
1. The moral hideousness of the world. These seven evils everywhere abound.
2. The immaculate purity of God. He hates these things. Therefore they are foreign to himself.
3. The true mission of the godly--to endeavour to rid the world of the evils offensive to Heaven. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv16–17 six things that Yahweh hates, seven that
six things that Yahweh hates, seven that
This whole verse is a parallelism that emphasizes that God hates several things and not just one. AT: "six things that Yahwah hates; seven things that" (See: Parallelism)
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that are disgusting to him
"that make him feel disgust" or "that make you disgusting according to him"
translationWords
Yahweh
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv16, 19 6:16-19 The first line gives a number followed by…
6:16-19 The first line gives a number followed by a second line that increases that number by one. This device (called number parallelism) introduces a list of items and often, as here, draws attention to the climactic final item (see also 30:15-23).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.