12:5 The plans 1 of the righteous are just;
the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. 2
12:17 The faithful witness 3 tells what is right, 4
but a false witness 5 speaks 6 deceit.
12:20 Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil, 7
but those who promote peace 8 have joy.
1 tn Heb “thoughts.” This term refers not just to random thoughts, however, but to what is planned or devised.
2 sn The plans of good people are directed toward what is right. Advice from the wicked, however, is deceitful and can only lead to trouble.
3 tn The text has “he pours out faithfully”; the word rendered “faithfully” or “reliably” (אֱמוּנָה, ’emunah) is used frequently for giving testimony in court, and so here the subject matter is the reliable witness.
4 tn Heb “righteousness.”
5 tn Heb “witness of falsehoods.” The genitive noun functions attributively, and the plural form depicts habitual action or moral characteristic. This describes a person who habitually lies. A false witness cannot be counted on to help the cause of justice.
6 tn The term “speaks” does not appear in this line but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
7 sn The contrast here is between “evil” (= pain and calamity) and “peace” (= social wholeness and well-being); see, e.g., Pss 34:14 and 37:37.
8 tn Heb “those who are counselors of peace.” The term שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is an objective genitive, so the genitive-construct “counselors of peace” means those who advise, advocate or promote peace (cf. NAB, NIV).