What does Proverbs 2:14 mean?

Verses 14 and 15 describe persons who follow the opposite path of virtuous living; they are evil. According to this passage, those who pursue God's wisdom and understanding, and who live according to His truth, can have confidence in His protection. They can not only live virtuously, they can avoid the pitfalls awaiting those who fail to seek true wisdom.

The general idea reflected here in verse 14 is that the evil person delights and rejoices in their evil. Just as Solomon discusses four concepts of virtuous living, later philosophers such as Plato would also categorize the virtuous man using a small set of core values. In addition, philosophers such as Plato described natural tendencies within men which interfered with virtue. Plato, in particular, referred to knowledge (defined differently than in Proverbs), anger, and desire. Echoes of that concept are seen here: The evil person has allowed his pride to overrun him to the point that he delights in thinking he is right all the time (a perversion of knowledge). The evil person allows his emotions to drive his actions, often flying off the handle at the slightest issue (unrighteous anger), and seeks his own pleasure above all else (unrighteous desires).

The theme of prior verses was that of "righteousness and justice," and the evil people described here are the polar opposite of these. These wayward people are described using terms such as "crooked," "perverse," and "devious."