Proverbs 10:32

To Know What is Acceptable

Commonplace –

“The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness” (Provebs 10:32).

Proverbs 10:32 is the last verse in Proverbs 10, so it’s appropriate that it ends with a reference to speech, a topic Solomon has hit on ten times throughout this chapter. In this verse, the righteous are cited for knowing what is acceptable; they practice discernment. In contrast, the words of the wicked are contrary. It doesn’t say the wicked don’t know what is acceptable, suggesting they do know what is correct and choose the opposite. As Matthew Henry aptly notes, “Here, as before, men are judged of, and, accordingly, are justified or condemned by their words, Matt. 12:37” (695).

Works Cited

Henry, Matthew. “Proverbs .” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

© 2025 Angela Hormberg