10:20 Do not curse a king even in your thoughts,
and do not curse the rich 1 while in your bedroom; 2
for a bird 3 might report what you are thinking, 4
or some winged creature 5 might repeat your 6 words. 7
1 tn Perhaps the referent is people who are in authority because of their wealth.
2 tn Heb “in chambers of your bedroom.”
3 tn Heb “a bird of the air.”
4 tn Heb “might carry the voice.” The article is used here with the force of a possessive pronoun.
5 tn The Hebrew phrase בַּעַל הַכְּנָפַיִם (ba’al hakkÿnafayim, “possessor of wings”) is an idiom for a winged creature, that is, a bird (e.g., Prov 1:17; see HALOT 143 s.v. בַּעַל A.6; BDB 127 s.v. בַּעַל 5.a). The term בַּעַל (“master; possessor”) is the construct governing the attributive genitive הַכְּנָפַיִם (“wings”); see IBHS 149-51 §9.5.3b.
6 tn The term “your” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
7 tn Heb “tell the matter.”