Proverbs 16:30

The one who winks his eyes ¹  devises perverse things, and ²  one who compresses his lips ³  brings about ⁴  evil.

Pr 6:12-14; Pr 10:10; Pr 16:27; Isa 6:10; Mic 7:3; Mt 13:15; Mt 14:7,8; Mt 27:23-26; Joh 3:20

¹ sn The participle עֹצֶה (’otseh) describes one as shutting his eyes (cf. KJV, ASV). This could mean simply “closing the eyes,” or it could refer to “winking” (so many English versions). The proverb is saying that facial expressions often reveal if someone is plotting evil (e.g., 6:13-14).

² tn The conjunction “and” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the synonymous parallelism.

³ tn The participle קֹרֵץ (qorets) indicates that the person involved is pinching, compressing, or biting his lips (cf. NIV “purses his lips”).

⁴ tn The verb is a Piel perfect; it means “complete, finish, bring to an end.” The two cola may form the whole process: The first line has “to devise” evil, and the second has “he completes” evil. BDB, however, classifies this use of the Piel as “to accomplish in thought” meaning “to determine” something (BDB 478 s.v. כָּלָה 1f). In that case the two lines would have synonymous ideas, i.e., using facial expressions to plan evil actions.