Proverbs 26:23

“Burning lips, and a wicked heart, etc.] Either burning with wrath and malice; breathing out threatenings and slaughter; pursuing men with reproaches and slanders, arising from a wicked heart: or rather, burning with profession of love to God, and affection to good men; with great pretensions of kindness, and promises of good things, when their hearts are wicked, and they design noticing less; say one thing with their lips, with the greatest show of affection and sincerity, and mean another in their hearts. These [are like] a potsherd covered with silver dross: which at a distance, or to less discerning persons, looks like silver, and is taken for it; when the covering is only dross, and what…”

“Warm professions can no more give value to insincerity than silver coating to rude earthenware.”

“Burning lips - i. e., “Lips glowing with, affection, uttering warm words of love,” joined with a malignant heart, are like a piece of broken earthenware from the furnace, which glitters with the silver drops at stick to it, but is itself worthless. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Burning - With malice or hatred: A slanderous or evil tongue. Dross - Such a tongue and heart are of no real worth, although sometimes they make a shew of it, as dross does of silver. Proverbs 26:26”

“26:23-26 People sometimes hide evil attitudes and wicked intentions through flattery. In the end, the true hatred of smooth talkers will be exposed.”

“That is, ardent professions of friendship from a wicked heart, however smooth, shining, and splendid they may appear, are like a vile vessel covered over with base metal. Pro 10:18; Sa2 20:9, Sa2 20:10; Eze 33:31; Luk 22:47, Luk 22:48 Proverbs 26:24”

“The proverbs next following treat of a cognate theme, hypocrisy (the art of dissembling), which, under a shining \[gleissen\] exterior, (Note: Vid., regarding gleisen (to give a deceitful appearance) and gleissen (to throw a dazzling appearance), Schmitthenner-Weigand's Deutsches Wrterbuch.) conceals hatred and destruction: 23 Dross of silver spread over an earthen vessel - Lips glowing with love and a base heart. Dross of silver is the so-called gltte (French, litharge), a combination of lead and oxygen, which, in the old process of producing silver, was separated (Luther: silberschaum, i.e., the silver litharge; Lat. spuma argenti, having the appearance of foam). It is still used to glaze…”