Proverbs 11:9
New English Translation
9 With his speech[a] the godless person[b] destroys[c] his neighbor,
but by knowledge[d] the righteous will be delivered.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 11:9 tn Heb “with his mouth.” The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech.
- Proverbs 11:9 sn The Hebrew word originally meant “impious, godless, polluted, profane.” It later developed the idea of a “hypocrite” (Dan 11:32), one who conceals his evil under the appearance of godliness or kindness. This one is a false flatterer.
- Proverbs 11:9 sn The verb שָׁחַת (shakhat) means “to destroy; to ruin” (e.g., the destruction of Sodom in Gen 13:10). The imperfect tense is probably not an habitual imperfect (because the second colon shows exceptions), but probably a progressive imperfect (“this goes on”) or potential imperfect (“they can do this”).
- Proverbs 11:9 sn The antithetical proverb states that a righteous person can escape devastating slander through knowledge. The righteous will have sufficient knowledge and perception to see through the hypocrisy and avoid its effect.
Proverbs 11:9
English Standard Version
9 With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor,
but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.
Proverbs 11:9
New International Version
9 With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors,
but through knowledge the righteous escape.(A)
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