Proverbs 16:27 (WEB)

Passage

A worthless man devises mischief. His speech is like a scorching fire.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

Proverbs 16:26 The appetite of the laboring man labors for him; for his mouth urges him on.

Proverbs 16:27 A worthless man devises mischief. His speech is like a scorching fire.

Proverbs 16:28 A perverse man stirs up strife. A whisperer separates close friends.

Proverbs 16:29 A man of violence entices his neighbor, and leads him in a way that is not good.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "worthless", "devises", "mischief", "speech", "like", "scorching", and "fire". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "worthless" and "devises", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "The appetite of the laboring man labors..." into verse 28's "A perverse man stirs up strife A...", so "worthless" and "devises" 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 "worthless" and "devises" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.