Proverbs 6:12 - Meaning and Application

Solomon here gives us a description of the kind of person who is harmful to others and dangerous to deal with.

First, he shows what a person like this is like. This is a wicked man, someone who makes a practice of doing evil, especially with his tongue. He “walks with a perverse mouth” (Proverbs 6:12), meaning he uses lying, twisting, and open resistance to God and people. He acts very skillfully and with purpose. He has the craft of a serpent, and he carries out his plans through careful tricks and hidden signals, with his eyes, his feet, and his fingers (Proverbs 6:13).

He may say little, or even speak indirectly, but he still gives orders for evil. Those around him, who serve as tools for his wrongdoing, understand the meaning of a glance, a foot-stamp, or a small movement of his hand. He tries to hide what he is doing so that he will not be suspected. He is reserved, secretive, and deceptive, and only those who are willing to do his evil work are let into his plans.

He is also spiteful. It is not mainly ambition or greed that drives him, but malice and a bad spirit. He does not only want to help himself, he wants to hurt others. He is always planning some new mischief, simply for the sake of doing harm. He is truly a man of Belial, a worthless and wicked man, resembling the devil not only in cleverness but also in hatred.

Second, Solomon tells us what will happen to such a man. “His calamity shall come suddenly” (Proverbs 6:15). The ruin he planned for others will come back on him. It will come without warning, because he used secret and surprising tricks to trap people. It will also come without relief, because his destruction will be complete and beyond repair. What help can he expect, when he has offended all people? He will come to his end, and no one will help him (Daniel 11:45).

Solomon then gives a list of things that are especially hateful to God, and these are usually found in such wicked people. The seventh item is especially important, because he says there are six, yes seven. That final one is sowing discord. God hates sin of every kind, but some sins are especially hateful to him because they hurt other people and damage human life together. This shows God’s care for the good of human society. So men like this must expect sudden ruin, because the Lord hates their ways, and their actions are an abomination to him (Proverbs 6:16).

What God hates, we should also hate in ourselves, not just in others. First is pride, a proud look. Pride is listed first because it is at the root of many sins. God sees pride in the heart and hates it there, but when it shows itself in a proud face, with open contempt for others, it is especially offensive to him.

Second is falsehood, fraud, and pretending. Nothing is more hateful to God than a lying tongue. Truth is sacred, and honest speech is necessary for human life together. God and all good people hate lying.

Third is cruelty and bloodthirstiness. The devil has been a liar and a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). So hands that shed innocent blood are hateful to God, because they carry the devil’s image and serve his purposes.

Fourth is skillful planning for evil, a heart that designs wicked schemes and a mind that invents them. The more craft and planning there is in sin, the more hateful it is to God. This is the kind of person who knows how to carry out an envious, revengeful, or greedy plot very effectively.

Fifth is eagerness in doing evil, feet that run quickly to mischief. It is as if sinners are afraid of losing time or cannot wait to do wrong. Their energy and attention in sinful things should shame us, because we are often so slow and weak in doing what is good.

Sixth is bearing false witness, one of the greatest harms wickedness can produce. It is hard to defend against, and it can damage people in the deepest ways. It insults God, because he is called on in an oath, and it injures our neighbor, whose life and interests may be attacked by it. Lying includes both falsehood and false witness, so God hates it doubly.

Seventh is stirring up trouble between relatives and neighbors, and using every wicked means to turn them against each other. The God of love and peace hates the person who sows discord among brothers, because he loves harmony. Those who spread gossip, repeat spiteful stories, exaggerate what others say and do, and plant suspicion and bad guesses are only preparing a fire for themselves of the same kind.