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[a]Let a righteous person strike me; it is mercy if he reproves me.
    Do not withhold oil from my head(A)
    while my prayer opposes their evil deeds.

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Footnotes

  1. 141:5–7 The Hebrew text is obscure.

[a]Better is an open rebuke
    than a love that remains hidden.

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Footnotes

  1. 27:5–6 Verses 5 and 6 are concerned with true friendship. “Better than” sayings often declare one thing superior to another in view of some value, e.g., 15:17, vegetables are better than meat in view of a milieu of love. In v. 5, a rebuke is better than an act of affection in view of discipline that imparts wisdom.

Trustworthy are the blows of a friend,
    dangerous, the kisses of an enemy.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 27:6 The present translation is conjectural. The meaning seems to be that a friend’s rebuke can be life-giving and an enemy’s kiss can be deadly (like the kiss of Judas in Mt 26:48).