Proverbs 17:4
Evil people listen to spiteful talk, and liars pay attention to malicious words.
Free Bible Version
In The King James Version
A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.
In Context
3A crucible tests silver, and a furnace tests gold, but the Lord tests the attitude of mind.
Cross References
1 Samuel 22:7Saul said to them, “Listen to me, you men of Benjamin! Is the son of Jesse going to give all of you fields and vineyards and make you commanders and officers in the army?
Proverbs 28:4People who reject the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law fight against them.
Jeremiah 5:31The prophets give false prophecies; the priests rule as they please. My people love it like this, but what will you do when it all falls apart?
1 John 4:5They belong to the world, so they speak like people of the world, and the world listens to them.
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 17:4
3 The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord trieth the hearts. Note, 1. The hearts of the children of men are subject, not only to God's view, but to his judgment: As the fining-pot is for silver, both to prove it and to improve it so the Lord tries the hearts; he searches whether they are standard or no, and those that are he refines and makes purer, Jer. xvii. 10 . God tries the heart by affliction ( Ps. lxvi. 10, 11 ), and often chooses his people in that furnace ( Isa. xlviii. 10 )… Read the whole commentary →