He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, but he layeth up deceit within him
Proverbs 26 ends with a run of sayings about damage done behind a friendly face. This verse describes a man whose lips say one thing while his heart stores another, and it raises a hard question: if hatred can dress itself in warm words, how is anyone meant to spot it?
The verse belongs to a closing block of warnings. One writer notes who needs them most.
To the end of the chapter are denunciations of similar mischief under the disguise of fair speech and flattery. It is deceit in various forms, and these warnings put us strongly on our guard. We need that caution in this evil age. The Christian who walks in grace and refuses to avenge himself needs it most.
Loud hostility is not what this proverb has in view. The same writer separates hatred that erupts from hatred that hides. He says which one is more dangerous.
So the most dangerous hatred here is not the kind that explodes in violent words. It is the kind that would work its way out unnoticed, and so it disguises itself with the lips. The kind words only conceal the deceit inside the man.
The second half of the verse describes activity, not just a hidden thought. One writer works from an older translation, which reads "lays up deceit within him." He treats it as a deliberate stocking of supplies, and sets against it what the believer should store instead.
But the wicked "lays up deceit within him." That is, he feeds on it, conceives it, stores it up to use whenever he pleases. But let every believer be able to say with the Psalmist, "I have stored up your word in my heart" (Psalm 119:11).
The same writer adds that hypocrisy is not the believer's character. Yet a believer can still fall into it. Galatians 2:13 says that "even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy." There the motive was fear, not hatred.
The verse works as a diagnosis. Where disguise has become a settled habit, the same writer reads back from the behaviour to the motive. He also says what such a person does among Christians.
If a person's character is formed by hypocrisy, we may be certain that actual hatred is behind it. "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:15). To think of a man of this kind having any place among Christians is dreadful: he can be there for no other purpose than to scatter the sheep. His own immediate aim may be personal gain, but behind it is the Satanic intention of undermining what is of God.
A parallel proverb says, "The one who conceals hatred has lying lips" (Proverbs 10:18). One writer comments on it, and explains why Scripture speaks so openly about people we cannot see through.
So says He who searches the mind and heart, which we cannot do, and so we need to profit by His word. Malicious lies, once exposed, prove hatred that was covered up... The divine word does not stoop to the deceiving politeness of society. It speaks out so that all the saints may hear, whether for comfort or for warning.
The disguise does not last. Later in the chapter comes a promise of exposure, and this writer names two things that should make us recoil.
Hatred cannot cover itself forever. There comes a point where hypocrisy is laid bare. "Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known" (Luke 12:2). Would one not recoil both from the disgusting sin of hypocrisy, and from the humiliation of being exposed? But there is no doubt of such exposure.
- Covered — The proverb targets hatred that hides, not hatred that shouts. The friendly words are the cover, and that is what makes it dangerous.
- Cultivated — "Harbors deceit" means the hater feeds it, stores it, and keeps it ready to use. The believer stores God's word in the heart instead.
- Confirmed — Settled hypocrisy is evidence, not just a flaw. Real hatred stands behind it, and among Christians such a person can only scatter the sheep.
- Corrected — We cannot search another person's heart. So God speaks plainly in His word, instead of copying the polite evasions of society.
- Uncovered — The cover never holds. What hatred hides now will come to light. That warns the deceiver and comforts the deceived.
when his voice is gracious, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart.
Proverbs 26:25 warns about a voice that sounds warm while the heart behind it is not. How should you treat kind words from someone who hates you?
The verse before says that a hater covers himself with his lips. The danger is not the enemy who shouts:
The hatred (v. 24) that is most dangerous is not what explodes in violent words. It is the hatred that works its way out unnoticed, and so pretends with the lips. The kind words only hide the deceit inside the man.
The same warning runs to the end of the chapter, and it touches Christians too:
The rest of the chapter condemns the same mischief, carried on under the disguise of fair speech and flattery. It is deceit in various forms, and we must be strongly on our guard against it. In this evil age we need the warning, and the Christian who walks in grace and refuses to avenge himself needs it most.
The instruction is blunt: do not believe him. Faith needs a witness it can rely on, and this man's gentle voice is the trap.
So (v. 25), when such a person's voice is gracious, there is the strongest reason not to believe him. There is no sure faith except in a testimony that is fully reliable. This is why it is such a blessing to a Christian that his faith, and his hope too, rest in the God who cannot lie. He has spoken to us in His Son, who came in love as certain as the truth. But how different fallen man is! "for there are seven abominations in his heart." His heart is full of every evil — corruption as well as violence, as the Saviour testified.
The number in the verse carries its own meaning:
Seven. Spiritual completeness — usually of good, but sometimes of evil… There are seven abominations in man's heart. Prov. 26:25.
Another writer takes the same number further, and names the place where this man does most harm:
If hypocrisy shapes someone's character, we can be sure that real hatred lies behind it. "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:15). To think of a man like this having a place among Christians is dreadful. He can only be there to scatter the sheep… He may speak fair, and his voice may sound gentle and gracious. But that is where the danger is greatest: "believe him not." The "seven abominations in his heart" show that he has completely given himself over to idolatry. Seven is the number of completeness, and abominations is a word for idols.
The next verse says the covered hatred will be exposed in the assembly. That exposure does not wait for the end:
Pretences (v. 26) may succeed among men for a while. But God knows how to check Satan and expose malicious craft during the evil day — even before His kingdom appears in open power. So from time to time He strips the covering off hatred, and "wickedness is made manifest in the congregation."
Where does warm praise turn into flattery? One writer draws the line at excess:
If we are honest ourselves, then we will see that the flattery of others is actually falsehood. Commendation, approval and appreciation are right in their place. But if they are excessive, they are unbecoming. If they take the form of flattery, they are simply not true. You cannot trust the person who does this. Ruin follows close behind his words, if he succeeds in deceiving his victims.
Honest correction is the thing to welcome instead:
"Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it." This is to humble yourself under God's mighty hand, and God will exalt you in due time.
- Hidden, not loud. The hatred this verse warns of does not explode. It pretends with the lips and works unnoticed.
- Gracious voice, greatest danger. Fair speech is where the risk is highest. That is why the command is "believe him not."
- Seven means full. Seven stands for completeness — here, completeness of evil. This heart is wholly given over, full of corruption as well as violence.
- Trust rests on reliable testimony. Faith needs a witness it can rely on. That is the blessing of the God who cannot lie.
- The covering comes off. Pretence lasts a season only. God strips it away and the wickedness shows. So welcome honest rebuke, and refuse flattery that ends in ruin.
Though [his] hatred is covered by dissimulation, his wickedness shall be made manifest in the congregation.
Proverbs 26:26 ends a run of verses about a man whose warm words hide cold hatred. It makes one promise about him: the cover will come off, and it will come off in public.
The verses just before this one sketch one enemy with one aim.
But now the final and most flagrant display of evil fills the last five verses of the chapter. It deals with the deliberate pretender. He is driven by hatred, he puts on a cunning disguise, and he aims to break apart the people of God and any testimony for God. This is the enemy's work, so opposed to the precious unity emphasised in chapter 25.
What makes this hatred dangerous is that it does not shout.
So the hatred (v. 24) that is most dangerous is not the hatred that explodes in violent words. It is the hatred that would work itself out unnoticed, and so it pretends with the lips. The kind words only conceal the deceit inside the man.
The image in verse 23 explains why the covering never quite works. Dross is the waste skimmed off refined silver — it shines, but it is rubbish.
Someone may cover a piece of a broken earthen vessel, not with silver plate, but with the dross from refined silver. Of course it looks silvery, and it hides the roughness of the dross badly... "Burning lips" are the silver dross, glowing with apparent zeal, yet those who walk with God can see the hypocrisy plainly. A wicked heart will stoop to such things, but the believer ought not to be deceived.
The strange part is the mix: not bad temper, but affection and malice worn together.
The opening words of verse 23 do not suggest the heat of anger here. Anger might well go with "a wicked heart" in the usual way. But what is meant here is the extraordinary combination of expressing warm affection along with the desire to do evil. This, not that, is rightly compared to an earthen vessel overlaid not with silver, but with its dross.
Verse 25 tells you not to believe this man when he speaks kindly. One writer asks what he is doing among God's people at all.
To think of a man like this having any place among Christians is dreadful. He can be there with no other purpose than to scatter the sheep. His own immediate aim may be personal gain, but behind it is the Satanic intention of ruining what is of God. He may speak kindly, his voice gentle and gracious, but this is where the greatest danger lies: "believe him not." The "seven abominations in his heart" show he is completely given over to idolatry, seven being the number of completeness, and abominations a term for idols.
This verse does not only warn the victim. It warns the pretender: the cover will not last.
Hatred cannot cover itself forever. There comes a point where hypocrisy is laid bare. "Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known" (Luke 12:2). Would anyone not shrink from the disgusting sin of hypocrisy, and from the shame of being exposed? But there is no doubt about such exposure.
God does not wait for the end to act. He breaks up the deception now.
"Pretences" (v. 26) may succeed among men for a time. But even before the kingdom of God appears in displayed power, He knows how to check Satan and expose malicious craft during the evil day. So from time to time God strips the covering off hatred, and "his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly."
It is easy to read this verse as a description of somebody else. But one writer warns that the behaviour can creep into a believer's life.
No believer actually has the character of the pretender, any more than of the fool. Yet a believer can still be guilty of pretending. We see it in Galatians 2:13, when "even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy." Peter's influence in this was terribly wrong — not because of hatred, but because of fear. The believer must take care to act true to his character, and not like the wicked enemy of God. But the wicked "stores up deceit within him." That is, he feeds on it, conceives it, stores it up to use whenever he pleases. But let every believer be able to say with the Psalmist, "I have stored up your word in my heart" (Psalm 119:11).
- Covered. Hatred here does not shout; it dresses up. The dangerous hatred works in the dark and speaks kindly, storing its deceit inside.
- Thin. The covering is silver dross on broken clay — it shines, but those who walk with God can see the roughness through it.
- Distrusted. Because the disguise is words, the smooth voice is the signal to stop believing, not to relax.
- Uncovered. Concealment has a limit. God strips the covering off even now, and nothing hidden stays hidden.
- Public. The unmasking happens in the assembly, in front of the very people he hoped to divide. So guard your own life against pretending.