A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth works ruin on the one flattered and the flatterer.
The chapter closes with Proverbs 26:28, summarizing the theme of harmful speech: A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth works ruin (v. 28). Two halves complete the picture.
The liar may seem indifferent to those his lies harm, but Solomon names the deeper truth: A lying tongue hates those it crushes. To repeatedly lie to or about someone is to participate in a hatred of them. The lies crush their reputation, their relationships, and their lives. The lying tongue is not neutral; it is hostile.
A flattering mouth works ruin. The other side of damaging speech is flattery. The flatterer's smooth praise is not kindness; it is manipulation. He works ruin on the man he flatters by feeding self-deception, and ruin on himself by the slow corruption of speaking what he does not mean. The chapter closes by joining lying and flattery as twin damages of the tongue, both arising from a heart oriented toward harm rather than help.
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Proverbs 26:28 meaning
The chapter closes with Proverbs 26:28, summarizing the theme of harmful speech: A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth works ruin (v. 28). Two halves complete the picture.
The liar may seem indifferent to those his lies harm, but Solomon names the deeper truth: A lying tongue hates those it crushes. To repeatedly lie to or about someone is to participate in a hatred of them. The lies crush their reputation, their relationships, and their lives. The lying tongue is not neutral; it is hostile.
A flattering mouth works ruin. The other side of damaging speech is flattery. The flatterer's smooth praise is not kindness; it is manipulation. He works ruin on the man he flatters by feeding self-deception, and ruin on himself by the slow corruption of speaking what he does not mean. The chapter closes by joining lying and flattery as twin damages of the tongue, both arising from a heart oriented toward harm rather than help.