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28 A lying tongue[a] hates those crushed by it,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:28 tn Heb “the tongue of deception.” The subject matter of this proverb is deceptive speech. The “tongue of deception” (using a metonymy of cause with an attributive genitive) means that what is said is false. Likewise the “smooth mouth” means that what is said is smooth, flattering.
  2. Proverbs 26:28 sn The verse makes it clear that only pain and ruin can come from deception. The statement that the lying tongue “hates those crushed by it” suggests that the sentiments of hatred help the deceiver justify what he says about people. The ruin that he brings is probably on other people, but it could also be taken to include his own ruin.

28 A lying tongue hates its victims,
    and a flattering mouth causes ruin.

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23 The one who reproves[a] another[b] will in the end[c] find more favor
than the one who flatters[d] with the tongue.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 28:23 tn Or “rebukes” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
  2. Proverbs 28:23 tn Heb “a man,” but the context does not indicate this should be limited only to males.
  3. Proverbs 28:23 tn There is a problem with אַחֲרַי (ʾakharay), which in the MT reads “after me.” This could be taken to mean “after my instructions,” but that is forced. C. H. Toy suggests simply changing it to “after” or “afterward,” i.e., “in the end” (Proverbs [ICC], 504), a solution most English versions adopt. G. R. Driver suggested an Akkadian cognate aḫurrû, “common man,” reading “as a rebuker an ordinary man” (“Hebrew Notes,” ZAW 52 [1934]: 147). The Akkadian term can refer to a coarse, uneducated person (CAD A1: 216), if so here, then “one who rebukes a lout/oaf.”
  4. Proverbs 28:23 tn The construction uses the Hiphil participle מַחֲלִיק (makhaliq, “makes smooth”) followed by the adverbial accusative of means, the metonymy “tongue”—he makes what he says smooth. This will be pleasing for the moment, but it will offer no constructive help like the rebuke would.

23 Whoever rebukes a man will later on find more favor
    than someone who flatters with his words.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 28:23 Lit. tongue

The one[a] who flatters[b] his neighbor
spreads a net[c] for his steps.[d]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 29:5 tn Heb “a man,” but the context here does not suggest that the proverb refers to males only.
  2. Proverbs 29:5 tn The form is the Hiphil participle, literally “deals smoothly,” i.e., smoothing over things that should be brought to one’s attention. sn The flatterer is too smooth; his words are intended to gratify. In this proverb some malice is attached to the flattery, for the words prove to be destructive.
  3. Proverbs 29:5 sn The image of “spreading a net” for someone’s steps is an implied comparison (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis): As one would literally spread a net, this individual’s flattery will come back to destroy him. A net would be spread to catch the prey, and so the idea is one of being caught and destroyed.
  4. Proverbs 29:5 tn There is some ambiguity concerning the referent of “his steps.” The net could be spread for the one flattered (cf. NRSV, “a net for the neighbor’s feet”; NLT, “their feet,” referring to others), or for the flatterer himself (cf. TEV “you set a trap for yourself”). The latter idea would make the verse more powerful: In flattering someone the flatterer is getting himself into a trap (e.g., 2:16; 7:5; 26:28; 28:23).

A strong man who flatters his neighbor
    is setting a trap where he walks.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 29:5 Lit. trap for his footsteps