Proverbs 17:20 (LSB)

Passage

He who has a crooked heart finds no good, And he who is perverted in his tongue falls into evil.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 17:18 A man lacking a heart of wisdom strikes his hands in pledge And becomes guarantor in the presence of his neighbor.

Proverbs 17:19 He who loves transgression loves quarreling; He who makes his doorway high seeks destruction.

Proverbs 17:20 He who has a crooked heart finds no good, And he who is perverted in his tongue falls into evil.

Proverbs 17:21 He who begets a fool does so to his grief, And the father of a wicked fool is not glad.

Proverbs 17:22 A glad heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "crooked", "heart", "finds", "good", "perverted", "tongue", "falls", and "evil". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "crooked" and "heart", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "He who loves transgression loves quarreling He..." into verse 21's "He who begets a fool does so...", so "crooked" and "heart" 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 "crooked" and "heart" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.