Proverbs 17:4
A evil-doer giveth heed to wicked lips; and a liar giveth ear to a mischievous tongue.
JPS TaNaKH 1917
In The King James Version
A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.
In Context
3The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but the LORD trieth the hearts.
Cross References
1 Samuel 22:7And Saul said unto his servants that stood about him: 'Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds;
Proverbs 28:4They that forsake the law praise the wicked; but such as keep the law contend with them.
Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy in the service of falsehood, and the priests bear rule at their beck; and My people love to have it so; What then will ye do in the end thereof?
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 →