Proverbs 2:15

Proverbs 2:15, in plain English

Everything about such people is crooked and unreliable—nothing about them leads anywhere good; every path they take is deceptive and misleading.

Why it's here

This verse is almost poetic in its repetition: crooked paths, devious ways. It's emphasizing that corruption isn't surface-level with such people; it goes all the way through. A young man watching such people should notice: their entire direction is off. You can't straighten out their path by following it.

Who's speaking

The wisdom teacher, summarizing the character of the wicked

Where it sits in the story

The contrast throughout Proverbs is stark: the righteous walk a straight path leading to life; the wicked walk crooked paths leading nowhere. It's not judgment in a harsh sense; it's simply how things work.

The scholarly reading

The final characterization: these people's entire way of life is fundamentally bent and deceptive, lacking straightforwardness.

Language and setting

The terms 'crooked' (עִקְּשִׁים, ikkeshim) and 'devious' (סְלוּלִים, selulim, 'tortuous') employ metaphors of physical distortion to describe moral orientation. The accumulation of descriptors across verses 12-15 builds an increasingly vivid portrait: first the 'way of evil,' then those who speak twisted words, those who abandon straight paths, those who delight in evil, and now those whose very existence is fundamentally warped. This represents the chapter's most intense characterization of the wicked.

Voice

The wisdom teacher, completing the portrait of those from whom wisdom protects.

Significance

This connects to the Psalmist's language regarding the wicked (Psalm 12:2-3) and to the NT's depiction of those whose 'end is destruction' (Philippians 3:19).

13from those who leave the straight paths to walk in the ways of darkness,

14from those who enjoy doing evil and rejoice in the twistedness of evil,

15whose paths are crooked and whose ways are devious.

16It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words

17who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God.

Read all of Proverbs 2 — Seek wisdom like silver. Search for it like hidden treasure. The payoff isn't wealth — it's understanding the fear of the Lord.