There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.
A worker's appetite works for him;
his mouth urges him on.
A worthless man plots evil,
and his speech is like a scorching fire.
A dishonest man spreads strife,
and a whisperer separates close friends.Proverbs 16:25-28
25 repeats the statement of 14:12, on which see Note. In 26, the RSV is to be preferred to the AV. What is being spoken of is incentives to hard work. Knox translates 'No better friend has drudgery than appetite; hunger drives a man to his task'. This is a relevant verse for wildcat strikers today. We suspect that such men would think twice before going on strike if they were not so sure of getting funds from Social Security. If there is a wife and family to feed and clothe, it is wonderful the incentive there is to work hard and honorably. That is one kind of mischief-making in society today; in 27-30 we are told of some others. 'Ungodly' in 27 is translated as 'worthless' in RSV. 'Diggeth up' is the usual O.T. word for plotting and scheming. The idea seems to be the kind of person who will ferret out information about people that can be harmful to their interests. Some people have a great nose for gossip; they always know everything that is going on. They can be very dangerous. The froward man who sows strife (28) acts like Samson when he set the foxes with firebrands tied to their tails among the Philistines' corn (Judges 15: 5, where the verb used is the same as here). How quickly the whole situation is alight! The metaphor changes in 28b, though not the damage that is caused. The whisperer takes a perverse delight in telling someone what his friend said, quoting out of context, and creating estrangement. How much misunderstanding and hurt he can cause, which sometimes a lifetime will not suffice to clear away or heal. This is, alas, too often experienced within the Christian Church itself. Those who indulge in such practices surely have sick minds; but it needs to be realised that it is a sin to be repented of as well as a sickness to be healed. Ugly things need to he called by their proper names!