Proverbs 17:4
An evil-doer listeneth to mischievous lips; And a liar giveth ear to a destructive tongue.
Noyes Bible
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 hearts.
5Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker; He that is glad at calamities shall not go unpunished.
Cross References
Proverbs 28:4They who forsake the law praise the wicked; But they who keep the law contend with them.
Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule under their guidance, And my people love to have it so. But what will ye do in the end of it?
1 John 4:5They are of the world; therefore they speak of the world, and the world heareth 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 →