Proverbs 10:6

Blessings ¹  are on the head of the righteous, but the speech ²  of the wicked conceals ³  violence. ⁴ 

De 28:2; Es 7:8; Job 29:13; Ps 107:42; Pr 10:11; Pr 11:26; Pr 24:25; Pr 28:20; Ro 3:19; 2Ti 1:16-18

¹ sn The word “blessings” has the sense of gifts, enrichments, that is, the rewards or the results of being righteous. The blessings come either from the people the righteous deal with, or from God. CEV understands the blessings as praise for good behavior (“Everyone praises good people”).

² tn Heb “the mouth.” The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech.

³ tn Heb “covers.” Behind the speech of the wicked is aggressive violence (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 422).

⁴ tn The syntax of this line is ambiguous. The translation takes “the mouth of the wicked” as the nominative subject and “violence” as the accusative direct object; however, the subject might be “violence,” hence: “violence covers the mouth of the wicked” (cf. KJV, ASV, NIV).