Proverbs 24:2

Proverbs 24:2, in plain English

When wicked people seem appealing, remember what's actually happening inside them—their minds are plotting harm, and their words spread trouble wherever they go.

Why it's here

The teacher is pulling back the curtain on what you can't always see. You might meet someone charismatic or successful, but their internal world is oriented toward hurting others. Their speech confirms it.

Who's speaking

A wisdom teacher addressing someone tempted by the wrong crowd.

Where it sits in the story

This echoes what Jesus taught about how our words reveal what's in our hearts—the mouth speaks from the overflow of what fills us. Evil people's words betray their inner reality.

The scholarly reading

Wicked people's innermost thoughts are consumed with violence and harm, which inevitably flows out in their words.

Language and setting

The Hebrew psychology represented here posits that the heart (lēb) is the seat of intention and desire; what dwells there will ultimately manifest through speech and action. This reflects the Deuteronomic principle that internal moral corruption precedes external transgression. The parallelism — 'hearts devise' paired with 'lips declare' — demonstrates the ancient conviction that speech reveals character.

Voice

The wisdom teacher, drawing on observed human behavior and theological anthropology.

Significance

This principle finds full elaboration in Jesus's teaching that 'out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks' (Matthew 12:34), establishing moral psychology as fundamental to the gospel ethic.

1Do not envy wicked men or desire their company;

2for their hearts devise violence, and their lips declare trouble.

3By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established;

4through knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure.

Read all of Proverbs 24 — If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength. Wisdom builds a house; by understanding it is established.