Proverbs 11:9

With his speech ¹  the godless person ²  destroys ³  his neighbor, but by knowledge ⁴  the righteous will be delivered.

1Ki 13:18-22; 1Ki 22:6,20-23; Job 8:13; Job 34:30; Ps 55:12,20,21; Pr 2:10-16; Pr 4:5,6; Pr 6:23,24; Mt 7:15; Mt 15:5-14; Mr 13:14,22,23; Ac 20:30; 2Co 11:13-15; Eph 4:13,14; 2Th 2:8-10; 1Ti 4:1-3; 2Pe 2:1-3; 2Pe 3:16-18; 1Jo 2:21,27

¹ tn Heb “with his mouth.” The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech.

² 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.

³ 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”).

⁴ 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.