This verse closes the three portraits of destructive men, Proverbs 16:27–29.
Quick answer
Violence recruits. The violent man does not only harm his neighbor; he entices him, and the danger he poses is not just his fists but his invitation.
Read both lines
The verb is the surprise: we expect a violent man to threaten; this one persuades, the strongman who needs company, the recruiting pitch as old as 1:10–14. The second line's understatement is deliberate: a way that is not good, the sages' quiet verdict on a road whose end they have already described (16:25). The three portraits all destroy through relationship, the digger, the whisperer, the recruiter, which is why wisdom's first defense is the oldest advice in the book: do not walk with them.
Related: Proverbs 1:10–16 · Proverbs 22:24–25 · Psalm 1:1
New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. Full copyright information. Scripture provided by API.Bible.
Go Deeper
If this verse has been used to put weight on you that it was never carrying, ask about it directly.