"There are six things which Yehovah hates, yes, seven which are an abominatioed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers" (Proverbs 6:16-19).
Haughty Eyes
The first item on the list is "haughty eyes" (New American Standard Bible, New International Version). This phrase is also translated: "a proud eye" (New English Bible) .... "those who are too proud" (Contemporary English Version) .... "arrogant eyes" (Holman Christian Standard Bible) .... "eyes that show a man is proud" (Easy-to-Read Version) .... and a number of other very similar phrasings. The wording in the Hebrew "refers to a proud look suggesting arrogant ambition" (Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 935). "It is not merely the look which is meant here in this passage, but the temper of mind which the look expresses" (The Pulpit Commentary, vol. 9, p. 131). "The sensuous expression contains and implies in every case the inner mood" (ibid, p. 146). One commentator suggested it speaks of "pompous defiance." "The lamp that guides the wicked -- haughty eyes and an arrogant heart -- is sin!" (Proverbs 21:4). "Human pride will be humbled" (Isaiah 2:11). A perfect case in point was how the Lord God dealt with "the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness" (Isaiah 10:12). The destruction to come upon him, and upon his evil forces, would be fearful to behold. He and they would be utterly consumed, "both soul and body" (vs. 18), by the consuming fire of a righteous God.
The word "haughty" is defined in Webster's New World Dictionary as "having or showing great pride in oneself and contempt for others." It is an "arrogant disdain" for those about you. When brethren look down on brethren, there is a haughty spirit at work in these disdainful brethren, and the end result is always strife and schism. Paul instructed those in Rome who had differing convictions not to display haughtiness in their interpersonal relationships -- "Let not him who eats regard with contempt him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another?" (Romans 14:3-4). The Greek word Paul uses here is exoutheneo, which means "to make light of, set at naught, treat with contempt and scorn; regard as paltry or of little account" (The Analytical Greek Lexicon). The Greek word employed in Proverbs 6:17 (in the Septuagint) is hubristes, which signifies "an overbearing, wantonly violent person" (ibid). This is the source of our English word "hubris" = "arrogance caused by excessive pride."
"Pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth, I hate" (Proverbs 8:13). Pride is put first in our text "because it is at the bottom of all disobedience and rebellion against God's laws" (The Pulpit Commentary, vol. 9, p. 131). The Lord has never looked favorably upon the haughty! They are an abomination to Him. One of the primary reasons for this is because of what pride generates -- "By pride comes nothing but strife" (Proverbs 13:10). When men are haughty, they will inevitably regard those around them with contempt, and when others are regarded with contempt, there is strife! And the Lord hates "the one who spreads strife among brothers" (Proverbs 6:19). Thus, "pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). The Principle of Reciprocity will be experienced by those who, with haughty eyes, look with disfavor upon others -- "In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted; let them be caught in the plots which they have devised" (Psalm 10:2). Amen!
A Lying Tongue
The second item on the list of those things despised by deity is "a lying tongue" (NASB, NIV, NKJV, Holman CSB). Other renderings are: "Those who tell lies" (CEV) .... "A false tongue" (NEB) .... "tongues that tell lies" (E-T-RV). The phrase in the Hebrew literally reads, "a tongue of deception." In the Septuagint the descriptive term employed is adikos, which means "unjust, vicious, unrighteous, iniquitous; deceitful, fallacious" (The Analytical Greek Lexicon).
Inherent within the word is the concept of one who desires, through such vicious fallaciousness, to do personal injury to another. Thus, it is not just telling lies to cover one's own iniquity, but the telling of lies to bring harm to another.
- A perfect example of this is found in Psalm 109:2-4 --- "For they have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth against me; they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without cause. In return for my love they act as my accusers." These painful words of David describe the injury felt by one who has been betrayed by one to whom he sought only to show love. It is a psalm applied by the disciple of Jesus, to Judas in Acts 1:20.
This lying tongue is "the organ of speech being named here for the false person" (Dr. Paul Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible, vol. 2, p. 222). Thus, as already noted earlier, each organ specified in this list of "hated" items points back to the person himself, of whom these organs are merely tools for evil. "In a concise form the expression, 'a lying tongue,' represents what has been already said in vs. 12-13 of 'the wicked man' who 'walks with a false mouth' and whose conduct is made up of deceit. Lying is the willful perversion of truth, not only by speech, but by any means whatever whereby a false impression is conveyed to the mind. ... It excites the Divine displeasure" (The Pulpit Commentary, vol. 9, p. 131).
"A lying tongue hates those it crushes" (Proverbs 26:28). In return, our God hates a lying tongue. The Principle of Reciprocity. You get just what you give. Lying tongues have but one fate awaiting them -- these tongues shall be terminated. "Truthful lips will be established forever, but a lying tongue is only for a moment" (Proverbs 12:19). "He who tells lies will perish" (Proverbs 19:9). Ananias and Sapphira are a perfect example of what happens to such would-be deceivers of men and God (Acts 5:1-11). "You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue! Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin; He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living" (Psalm 52:4-5). "O lying tongue, what shall be your fate? You shall be pierced with sharp arrows and burned with glowing coals" (Psalm 120:3-4). "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).
Hands That Shed Innocent Blood
The third "hated thing" from this passage in Proverbs is -- "hands that shed innocent blood" (NASB, NIV, NEB, Holman CSB, KJV) .... "those who ... murder" (CEV) .... "hands that kill innocent people" (E-T-RV). The focus is on one's hands, the active agents of one's inner will. In this case, the will that is carried out is murder. One of the Ten Commandments is: "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13). Yehovah told Noah, after He had brought them safely through the flood, "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man" (Genesis 9:6). Yes, there are times when killing of the wicked is required, but to shed innocent blood is not permitted. There are grave consequences associated with such! "That the shedding of innocent blood cries for vengeance, and pulls down God's heavy judgments on the murderer, appears in the case of Cain and Abel" (The Pulpit Commentary, vol. 9, p. 131).
We are told that King Manasseh, who reigned fifty-five years over Judah (taking the throne at the age of twelve), did much evil in the sight of Yehovah God. An aspect of that long list of evil deeds is presented to us in 2 Kings 21:16 -- "Manasseh shed very much innocent blood until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another." He also "made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists" (vs. 6), and "seduced them to do evil more than the nations whom Yehovah destroyed before the sons of Israel" (vs. 9). His deeds (vs. 11) were "abominations" in the sight of God, as he himself was (Proverbs 6:16). There is a chilling observation found in 2 Kings 24:4 about the consequence of the sins of Manasseh which ought to serve as a warning to us --- it speaks of "the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and Yehovah would not forgive." What a sobering thought!
- Before we become too self-congratulatory for not having murdered anyone, let's remember the words of Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount -- "You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, 'Do not murder,' and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment" (Matthew 5:21-22).
- God hates those who shed innocent blood! Are you "drawing blood" in your anger against a brother? Beware!! "For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy" (James 2:13).The shedding of innocent blood must cease, whether that blood letting be literal or figurative.
A Heart That Devises Wicked Plans
Next we come to the heart, the seat of the passions that too often motivate us away from God and toward the performance of the evil devised therein. Our God hates, and regards as an abomination, "a heart that devises wicked plans" (NASB) .... "a heart that forges thoughts of mischief" (NEB) .... "a heart that devises wicked imaginations" (KJV) .... "a heart that devises wicked schemes" (NIV) .... "hearts that plan bad things to do" (E-T-RV). Some translations speak of "plotting" evil schemes and "creating" wicked plans. It is a person who consciously considers how to do that which is hurtful to others. It is malicious, vicious, vindictive scheming. God hates such people!! They are an abomination in His sight!!
"The heart represents the will most often. Here it plots evil" (The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 935). Proverbs 6:14 describes the "worthless person" and the "wicked man" as he "who with perversity in his heart devises evil continually, and who spreads strife." Yehovah promises in the very next verse that "his calamity will come suddenly!" Reciprocity -- those who perversely scheme against others in their hearts will reap a harvest of woe!! "These are they who use their inventive faculties, not for the good of their race, nor for the maintenance of their families, but for the base and shameful purpose of bringing some of their fellows into distress, if not into ruin; they contrive their overthrow only to enjoy their discomfiture" (The Pulpit Commentary, vol. 9, p. 152).
"There are evil thoughts in all men's hearts; but the devising, fabricating of them, and thus making the heart into a devil's workshop, is the mark of utter depravity and wickedness, and is abhorrent to God" (ibid, p. 131). "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man" (Matthew 15:19-20; see also: Mark 7:20-23). Isaiah 59:1-8 is very instructive here. Iniquity has "made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you" (vs. 2). Isaiah then goes into quite a list of godless characteristics that constitute the makeup of those "hated by God." Many of them are the same as in our text in Proverbs, and there are more besides. These are people "who do not know the way of peace" (vs. 8), and peace is the last thing they will find when they appear before God in judgment!
Feet That Run Rapidly To Evil
Item number five on God's "most hated" list is "feet that run rapidly to evil" (NASB) .... "feet that run to do evil things" (E-T-RV) .... "those who are quick to do wrong" (CEV) .... "feet eager to run to evil" (Holman CSB). "This captures the enthusiastic and complete involvement in activities that bring pain to all concerned" (The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 935).
The Masoretic Text (MT) literally has the expression: feet that "make haste to run," ... "the idea being to make haste to begin to run, i.e., eager to seize the opportunity" (ibid, p. 936). These are evil people who can't wait to get involved in all manner of evil. They hasten to it. They seize every opportunity to do harm to another. This running to evil is nothing more than "carrying out with alacrity and without delay what has already been devised in the heart" (The Pulpit Commentary, vol. 9, p. 131).
These are godless wretches who are "couriers of ill news, eager retailers of slander, and all who cannot bear to be forestalled in the hurtful word, who are ambitious of the first deadly blow" (ibid, p. 147). They are the ones who would have gleefully thrown the first stone in John 8, and the ones who most certainly ran to do so in Acts 7. "These are they who take a savage delight in being the instruments of punishment -- who gloat over their work of severity or blood" (ibid, p. 152). When the Lord comes in judgment, they shall reap what they sow. Notice the words of the angel to John, "They poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink. They deserve it!!" (Revelation 16:6). The Principle of Reciprocity! "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20).
A False Witness Who Utters Lies
With the sixth item, the inspired writer turns from the bodily parts to the person himself. What is hated by God? What is an abomination in His sight? It is not a "what," it is a "who!" It is "a false witness who utters lies" (NASB) .... "a lying witness who gives false testimony" (Holman CSB) .... "a false witness telling a pack of lies" (NEB). "The sixth abomination returns to the theme of deception. Here the focus is on perjury, a direct violation of the Decalogue" (The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 935). "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16). In the original language, this sixth item speaks of those who "breathe out" (Hebrew: puakh) falsehoods against another. The idea of "breathing out" conveys that it comes from within -- i.e., it is their nature. They are "all who trade in falsehood, and breathe it as their atmosphere" (The Pulpit Commentary, vol. 9, p. 147).
Lying has already been addressed, in a general sense, in our text (vs. 17), but this is lying in a far more specific sense. It is perjury; lying under oath; bearing testimony against another that is false. "One of the most solemn and responsible positions a man can occupy is the witness-box; he stands there, invoking the dread Name of Yehovah Himself to cause justice to be done. If then he purjeres himself, and 'speaks lies' when actually under oath, he defies his Maker, perverts justice, wrongs the innocent or releases the guilty, is disloyal to his country, outrages his own conscience. Well may he be among those whom God especially condemns" (ibid, p. 152). Such men are clearly seen rallying themselves against Stephen, the first martyr in the church (Acts 6:9-14), and against our lord Jesus the Messiah himself (Matthew 26:59f; Mark 14:55f). These false witnesses brought about the death of the innocent. God hates the false witness, as well He should!! "Truly speaking, he that lies as a false witness must be hateful to God" (ibid, p. 132).
One Who Spreads Strife Among Brothers
In the seventh Beatitude we read, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9). In the seventh "hated thing" of Proverbs 6 we find a different kind of person. These people know not peace; indeed, they seek to destroy peace. They are those who "spread strife among brothers" (NASB) .... "who stir up trouble among brothers" (Holman CSB) .... "those who stir up trouble in a family" (CEV) .... "one who stirs up quarrels between brothers" (NEB) .... "a man who stirs up dissension among brothers" (NIV). "These are contentious, quarreling people who have a short fuse" (The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 936).
This final statement in our Proverbs passage is "emphatically stigmatizing the conduct of that man as diabolical who destroys the harmony and unity of those who ought to live together in brotherly affection" (The Pulpit Commentary, vol. 9, p. 132). Such persons "partake of the leavened bread of malice" (ibid, p. 147).
The apostle Paul warns against "strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men" (1 Timothy 6:4-5). He characterizes such persons who engage in these godless acts as "depraved in mind and deprived of Truth." A great many of the "works of the flesh" have to do with such godless attitudes and actions. "Enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions" (Galatians 5:20) are just some of these satanic works of flesh, the practice of which will cost one their eternal salvation. "I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:21). Proverbs 15:18 tells us that "a hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but the slow to anger pacifies contention." Proverbs 29:22 tells us "an angry man stirs up strife." In Proverbs 16:28 we see "a perverse man spreads strife." "An arrogant man stirs up strife" (Proverbs 28:25). "Hatred stirs up strife" (Proverbs 10:12). I think it is obvious from these passages that where strife exists, one will also find present a godless person stirring up that strife. God hates the one who does this!!
"Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of feasting with strife" (Proverbs 17:1). There is nothing good and pleasant about brethren who are at odds with one another. Our Father's desire for His children is for them to be a family unified in the Spirit, at peace with one another, and in love with each other. Where love prevails, oneness is promoted. "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!" (Psalm 133:1). It is within this sacred environment that we find our greatest promise -- "For there Yehovah commanded the blessing -- life forever" (Psalm 133:3). Those hot-tempered, angry, perverse, arrogant, hateful men and women who stir up strife between brothers, are not only hated by Yehovah, but they will never see life eternal. They are an abomination to Him, and they will be forever banned from His holy presence. In so doing, His people will finally enjoy peace during that great eternal day in the new heavens and earth where only righteousness dwells. These evildoers will be dried up chaff, reduced to nothing but ashes by the consuming fire of Yehovah's wrath. "'And you will tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,' says Yehovah of hosts" (Malachi 4:3). Lord, hasten that day!!
CONCLUSION
Brethren, the world is filled with evil people who hate God and all His ways. This is no shocking revelation. We have always known that the forces of darkness exist all about us; we see their evidence daily in countless ways. We are also aware that this evil inhabits and influences people, and that, at times, these evil ones slip in among us and begin to work their malicious intent upon the family of God. We are aware of their arrogance, their deceit, their eagerness to inflict harm, their slander, and their perverse plotting. We know that where such people infest the church, strife and schism are generated. It sickens and distresses us to witness such evil in our ranks, and we long for the peace, unity and harmony of brothers that is promised by and in our lord Jesus the Messiah.
We find ourselves sometimes hating those who destroy the sanctity of our peaceful unity, and yet we tend to feel that such feelings are somehow
wrong. After all, we are to hate the sin, but love the sinner. Or, so we have always been taught. I believe that although we should indeed seek the ultimate redemption of all men, even those who array themselves against us as enemies, nevertheless there are some sinners who are so diametrically opposed to all that our God is, that we are not wrong in loathing these sinners as well as their sin. This passage in the book of Proverbs clearly informs us that there are some people God HATES .... and, I believe, justifiably so!
Brethren, let us love what God loves, and hate what God hates! And let us realize that sometimes the "what" is a "who." On the night of his betrayal, our lord prayed that magnificent prayer in which he asked the Father to make us ONE people; a unified family. Our precious lord went to that cruel cross to break down barriers and bring peace (Ephesians 2:13ff). He shed his blood, enduring incomprehensible agony, to bring diverse brethren together in a loving relationship with our Father in heaven.
There is no greater abomination on the face of this earth than those who profess themselves to be his followers, and yet who arrogantly, maliciously and deceitfully work to separate from the fellowship of one another this family of believers our lord died to establish. These are genuinely hated by our God.
Frankly, I do not find it inappropriate to share that righteous loathing for those devoted to harming our God and Father and His One Family!
Written by Al Maxey and edited by Bruce Lyon
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