Pro 16:27 | KingComments | STEP | These verses are about the worthless or depraved, perverse and violent man. There is an ascent in it. It begins with the “worthless man”, that is, what this man is in himself and how he acts ( ). Worthless or depraved men devise ways to slander people. “A worthless man” is literally a “man of Belial”, someone in whom there is nothing good. The term describes deep depravity and wickedness. This man is an evil person because he “digs up evil”. The meaning is that of bringing evil to the surface and making great efforts to do so. Digging up is hard work. He will go through someone’s entire file to find something evil that he can use. Social media is an example of a wide and deep ‘digging ground’, where certain data can also be manipulated in such a way that it serves the evil purpose the worthless man has in mind. Whatever evil he digs up, regardless of whether it is true or a lie, he scatters his words as seed. His speaking is “like scorching fire”, indicating the devastating effect of his words. James speaks of the tongue as “a fire, the world of iniquity” and continues: “The tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by hell” ( ). The worthless man of is the “perverse man” in . He is a man of falsehoods and lies and “a slanderer”. Open attacks do not work, therefore he chooses to whisper lies and slander, imputations, half-truths. The perverse man causes quarrels and even brings separation between best friends. He cannot make friends himself and cannot stand friendship between others. For this reason, he starts a smear campaign. He slanders one about the other and sows doubt and distrust between the two. He tells a lie about someone of which he knows it will be passed on. In doing so, he takes into account the fact that when it is passed on, it gets worse and worse. This is why he is called a “perverse man” because he ruins good relationships. In , the worthless and perverse man of the previous verses has become “a man of violence”, “a man of hamas”. The friends are separated by his slander; he has already caused that harm. But with that he is not satisfied. They must also be killed. It is not only talk, but he uses violence. He is also a deceiver, who wants to influence others to join him. The man of violence will want to influence people around him to commit the violence he has planned ( ). He wants to “lead” his neighbor “in a way that is not good”, that is, he wants to bring him into the criminal circuit. To achieve the goal of , he devises “perverse things” and then “bring evil to pass” ( ). He is so committed to evil that his body language cannot suppress his evil intentions, but betrays them. Facial expressions often reveal whether someone has something evil in mind ( ). Two expressions are mentioned here: winking or shutting one’s eyes and compressing one’s lips. A person winks or shuts his eyes when he wants to think intently about something without being distracted. In this way, the worthless, perverse, violent man is totally focused on evil. He sees before him how it is going to happen. Compressing his lips means that a person restrains himself from expressing his feelings, either to laugh or to burst into anger. Here it points to hidden evil intentions that he is about to carry out.

‏ Proverbs 16:27

The Worthless, Perverse, Violent Man

These verses are about the worthless or depraved, perverse and violent man. There is an ascent in it. It begins with the “worthless man”, that is, what this man is in himself and how he acts (Pro 16:27). Worthless or depraved men devise ways to slander people. “A worthless man” is literally a “man of Belial”, someone in whom there is nothing good. The term describes deep depravity and wickedness.

This man is an evil person because he “digs up evil”. The meaning is that of bringing evil to the surface and making great efforts to do so. Digging up is hard work. He will go through someone’s entire file to find something evil that he can use. Social media is an example of a wide and deep ‘digging ground’, where certain data can also be manipulated in such a way that it serves the evil purpose the worthless man has in mind.

Whatever evil he digs up, regardless of whether it is true or a lie, he scatters his words as seed. His speaking is “like scorching fire”, indicating the devastating effect of his words. James speaks of the tongue as “a fire, the world of iniquity” and continues: “The tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by hell” (Jam 3:6).

The worthless man of Pro 16:27 is the “perverse man” in Pro 16:28. He is a man of falsehoods and lies and “a slanderer”. Open attacks do not work, therefore he chooses to whisper lies and slander, imputations, half-truths. The perverse man causes quarrels and even brings separation between best friends.

He cannot make friends himself and cannot stand friendship between others. For this reason, he starts a smear campaign. He slanders one about the other and sows doubt and distrust between the two. He tells a lie about someone of which he knows it will be passed on. In doing so, he takes into account the fact that when it is passed on, it gets worse and worse. This is why he is called a “perverse man” because he ruins good relationships.

In Pro 16:29, the worthless and perverse man of the previous verses has become “a man of violence”, “a man of hamas”. The friends are separated by his slander; he has already caused that harm. But with that he is not satisfied. They must also be killed. It is not only talk, but he uses violence.

He is also a deceiver, who wants to influence others to join him. The man of violence will want to influence people around him to commit the violence he has planned (Pro 1:10-14 ; Pro 2:12-15). He wants to “lead” his neighbor “in a way that is not good”, that is, he wants to bring him into the criminal circuit.

To achieve the goal of Pro 16:29, he devises “perverse things” and then “bring evil to pass” (Pro 16:30). He is so committed to evil that his body language cannot suppress his evil intentions, but betrays them. Facial expressions often reveal whether someone has something evil in mind (Pro 6:13-14). Two expressions are mentioned here: winking or shutting one’s eyes and compressing one’s lips.

A person winks or shuts his eyes when he wants to think intently about something without being distracted. In this way, the worthless, perverse, violent man is totally focused on evil. He sees before him how it is going to happen. Compressing his lips means that a person restrains himself from expressing his feelings, either to laugh or to burst into anger. Here it points to hidden evil intentions that he is about to carry out.