Proverbs 6:17 Meaning and Explanation
“A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →These three expressions reach from the face to the mouth to the hands. They show that evil can appear in attitude, speech, and action. The verse calls for honest self-examination because pride and deceit can prepare the way for serious harm.
Proverbs 6:17 begins the LORD's list of deeds he hates: proud self-exaltation, false speech, and violent hands that take the life of the innocent.
The Context of Proverbs 6:17
Proverbs 6 presents a father's urgent instruction to his son. Earlier warnings address rash pledges, laziness, and the person whose crooked speech and hidden signals sow discord. Verses 16 through 19 gather seven detestable evils in a numbered saying. Verse 17 gives the first three items, while verse 18 continues with a scheming heart and eager feet, and verse 19 ends with false testimony and discord among brethren. The chapter then returns to parental commandment and warns against adultery. The list therefore stands within instruction about conduct that damages neighbors, households, and community.
What Does Proverbs 6:17 Mean?
The phrase "a proud look" literally directs attention to lifted or haughty eyes. A look can reveal the inward posture of someone who treats others with contempt and refuses humble dependence upon God. "A lying tongue" names speech that knowingly distorts truth. Lies can conceal wrongdoing, injure a neighbor's name, and dissolve the trust on which ordinary life depends. The final expression, "hands that shed innocent blood," names actual violence against those who have done no wrong deserving death. The movement from look, to tongue, to hands gathers disposition, speech, and deed. Each is morally weighty before the LORD, whose judgment reaches beyond public appearances to the ways people regard, speak of, and treat one another.
This verse belongs to a sevenfold description of what is an abomination to the LORD. The surrounding items show a connected pattern: a heart devises evil, feet hurry toward mischief, a witness speaks lies, and discord spreads among brethren. Proverbs therefore recognizes that destructive acts commonly grow through inward purpose and repeated habits. Pride resists correction. Falsehood supplies cover for evil. Violence treats a human life as disposable. The verse does not measure sin only by its visible outcome; it names the moral course that opposes God's wise ordering of life. Its place after the warning about the froward person also shows why the father's instruction seeks to form truthful, peaceable character before ruin becomes sudden.
Jesus' teaching gives a clear canonical connection. In Matthew 5:21-22, he addresses the commandment against killing and brings angry contempt under searching judgment. His words do not erase the grave reality of shedding innocent blood; they expose the hostility that can nourish violence. The same sermon calls his followers to plain truthfulness in Matthew 5:37, which accords with Proverbs' condemnation of a lying tongue. Christ also lived without deceit and gave himself into the hands of violent people while innocent. The verse can therefore lead us to honor his holy life, receive his searching words, and seek the peace and truth that reflect his kingdom.
Bible Verses Related to Proverbs 6:17
“Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.”
- Proverbs 16:5
“Thou shalt not kill.”
- Exodus 20:13
“He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.”
- Psalm 15:2
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:”
- Matthew 5:21
Where Proverbs 6:17 Echoes in Scripture
Matthew 5:21 is an especially strong echo because Jesus takes up the commandment concerning murder and teaches its searching reach. Proverbs 6:17 condemns hands that shed innocent blood, while the later teaching addresses the anger and contempt that threaten a brother. Together the passages hold outward violence and the heart's hostile posture under God's serious moral light.
How to Apply Proverbs 6:17 Today
In ordinary conversation, this verse invites us to notice how easily contempt, exaggeration, and careless words can become familiar. We can practice receiving correction without defensiveness, speak truth when an inaccurate account would benefit us, and refuse participation in speech that harms another person's good name. Its concern for innocent blood also calls us to value vulnerable lives and to reject cruelty, revenge, and any delight in another's injury. Where pride or falsehood has already wounded a relationship, honest confession and fitting repair can become a beginning of peace. These practices are concrete ways of honoring the God who loves truth and judges violence.
Reflection & Prayer
Where might pride be shaping the way we look at another person, and where do our words need greater truthfulness? Pray: "Lord, search my heart, teach me humility, guard my tongue, and make my hands instruments of peace. Help me value those whom you have made and defend those who are harmed."