Proverbs 18:5 (GNV)

Passage

It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to cause ye righteous to fall in iudgement.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 18:3 When the wicked commeth, then commeth contempt, and with the vile man reproch.

Proverbs 18:4 The words of a mans mouth are like deepe waters, and the welspring of wisdome is like a flowing riuer.

Proverbs 18:5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to cause ye righteous to fall in iudgement.

Proverbs 18:6 A fooles lips come with strife, and his mouth calleth for stripes.

Proverbs 18:7 A fooles mouth is his owne destruction, and his lips are a snare for his soule.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "good", "accept", "person", "wicked", "cause", "righteous", "fall", and "iudgement". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "good" and "accept", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "The words of a mans mouth are..." into verse 6's "A fooles lips come with strife and...", so "good" and "accept" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "good" and "accept" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.