Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Proverbs 6:18 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 18. 18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse contributes the claim, image, or instruction “An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,”.
Read It With
- Proverbs 6:16–19
The line at Proverbs 6:18 contributes the claim, image, or instruction “An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,”. Its place in Proverbs 6:16–19 matters because the edited collection joins it to speech, listening, truth, and relational consequence, truthful testimony, honest measures, and integrity, violence, predation, conflict, and protection.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Proverbs 6:18 appears here because it contributes the claim, image, or instruction “An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,”. Its contrast, image, or consequence tests the concerns gathered in Proverbs 6:16–19.
Follow the Context
- Opening (6:16): the unit opens with “These six things doth the LORD hate” and develops the line through “yea, seven are an abomination unto him”.
- Development (6:16–19): adjacent lines test speech, listening, truth, and relational consequence, truthful testimony, honest measures, and integrity, violence, predation, conflict, and protection through parallelism, contrast, motive, image, or consequence.
- Close (6:19): the unit contributes the claim, image, or instruction “A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren”, creating the next supported pause.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift...”
In plain language: violence, predation, conflict, and protection
This verse contributes the claim, image, or instruction “An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,”.
Why it matters: This wording carries interpretive, pastoral, or misuse risk requiring the full unit and explicit limits.
How certain? strongWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The saying does not excuse retaliation, weapons fetishism, domestic violence, cruelty, collective punishment, or forcing a threatened person to remain near danger.
What Remains True
Violence and uncontrolled conflict destroy trust, endanger bodies, and often rebound upon those who organize them. In Proverbs 6:18, that bounded truth is expressed through “An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift...,” not through a promise detached from its literary form.
How It Can Shape Life
- Prioritize immediate safety, de-escalation where possible, accountable intervention, evidence preservation, and competent help. For Proverbs 6:18, preserve the sequence: verse role (contributes the claim, image, or instruction “An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,”) -> contextual meaning in Proverbs 6:16–19 -> proportionate truth -> this accountable response.
Teach It Back
Explain Proverbs 6:18's exact role in Proverbs 6:16–19. Distinguish pattern from guarantee, include “An heart that deviseth wicked...,” name one uncertainty, and explicitly reject one harmful use.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Proverbs 6:16–19 — Seven practices the LORD hatesSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The verse belongs to a larger speech, instruction, prayer, number saying, or poem; its voice and complete literary movement control how strongly an isolated line may be stated.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV words, canonical order, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and complete unit coverage.
Exact location: Proverbs 6:16–19, repository-pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Proverbs
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology used only for the exact unit's lexical, grammatical, parallel, superscription, number-saying, and acrostic questions.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Prov.xml, OSIS 6:16-6:19
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Proverbs with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-attached textual, lexical, grammatical, syntactic, parallelism, and older-English controls for the exact range.
Exact location: NET Bible Proverbs PDF, printed pp. 1093-1096, exact tc/tn/sn entries attached to 6:16–19
Open source ↗modern critical commentary
Proverbs
K. T. Aitken
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001
Supports: Whole-book and collection orientation, local commentary, social-setting proposals, and named interpretation limits.
Exact location: Aitken, ‘Proverbs,’ Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 405-422, subsection covering 6:16–19 and the Purpose, parental discourses, and the rival invitations of Wisdom and Folly outline
Open source ↗peer reviewed journal article
Wisdom and Folly in the city: exploring urban contexts in the book of Proverbs
Katharine J. Dell
Scottish Journal of Theology 69.4, 2016
Supports: One tested account of urban imagery and continuity across the book without inferring one composition setting.
Exact location: Dell, ‘Wisdom and Folly in the city,’ SJT 69.4 (2016), pp. 389-401, sections on maxims, social indicators, Proverbs 1-9, and conclusion relevant to Proverbs 6:16–19
Open source ↗