What Does Proverbs 26:26 Mean in the King James?
Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The Hebrew places hatred in concealment, then uses a reveal-root for its exposure: deceit can cover wrongdoing, but it cannot keep it out of public view.
THE MEANING
Hatred can remain beneath a deceptive surface, but the wickedness tied to it does not stay hidden. It comes into view before the gathered community, where private concealment meets public recognition.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that a convincing disguise can make wrongdoing safe from exposure. The cover hides its appearance, not its existence.
THE ROOT
מַסְתָּר
mastār
GROWS FROM
סתר
to hide or conceal
The Hebrew word rendered “deceit,” מַסְתָּר (mastār, “concealment; hiding place”), carries the image of hatred tucked out of sight. The verse then answers that hiding with תְּגַלֶּה (tegalleh, “will be revealed”), setting concealment against exposure in its own word choices.
ALSO GROWS
sēter: secret; hiding place
סֵתֶר
It names the concealment that covers the hatred in this verse.
histīr: to hide; to conceal
הִסְתִּיר
This verbal branch shows concealment as an act that keeps something out of sight.
תְּגַלֶּה
tegalleh
GROWS FROM
גלה
to uncover or reveal
“shewed” in this verse is tegalleh. The verb carries the sense of uncovering what is already there; exposure changes its visibility, not its existence. Its pairing with מַסְתָּר (mastār, “concealment”) makes the verse turn on hiding and uncovering.
ALSO GROWS
gālāh: to uncover; to reveal
גָּלָה
It names the same uncovering movement expressed by “shall be shewed.”
megalleh: one who reveals
מְגַלֶּה
This branch names the agent who brings what is hidden into view.
קָהָל
qāhāl
GROWS FROM
קהל
assembly; gathering
“congregation” in this verse is qāhāl. קָהָל (qāhāl, “assembly”) names a gathered community rather than a solitary observer. The disclosure happens in a shared public space, carrying the verse from concealment into communal visibility.
ALSO GROWS
qehillah: community; congregation
קְהִלָּה
It extends the idea of an assembly into a gathered community, the setting where the wrongdoing becomes visible.
hiqhīl: to assemble; to gather
הִקְהִיל
This verbal branch describes the gathering that makes the disclosure public.
THE PATTERN
Concealment does not keep what is hidden from eventually coming into view.
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.THE THREAD
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.“Secret things” draws on סתר (sātar, “to hide”), and “revealed” draws on גלה (gālāh, “to uncover or reveal”), the same roots that set concealment against exposure in Proverbs 26:26. Deuteronomy makes that movement explicit: what is hidden and what is revealed belong to distinct states.
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