Proverbs 11:9

Lexham English Bible

⁹With a mouth, the godless shall destroy his neighbor,
but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.

Proverbs 11:9

New English Translation

⁹With his speech^[a] the godless person^[b] destroys^[c] his neighbor,
but by knowledge^[d] the righteous will be delivered.

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.

¹³A gossip walks about telling a secret,
but the trustworthy in spirit keeps the matter.

¹³The one who goes about slandering others^[a] reveals^[b] secrets,
but the one who is trustworthy^[c] conceals a matter.

Proverbs 11:13 tn Heb “going about in slander.” This expression refers to a slanderer. The noun means “slander” and so “tale-bearer” (so KJV, ASV, NASB), “informer.” The related verb (רָכַל, rakhal) means “to go about” from one person to another, either for trade or for gossip.
Proverbs 11:13 tn The participle מְגַלֶּה (m^egalleh) means “uncovering” or “revealing” secrets.sn This is the intent of a person who makes disparaging comments about others—he cannot wait to share secrets that should be kept.
Proverbs 11:13 tn Heb “faithful of spirit.” This phrase describes the inner nature of the person as faithful and trustworthy. This individual will not rush out to tell whatever information he has heard, but will conceal it.

Lexham English Bible (LEB)

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New English Translation (NET)