Proverbs 21:10

The appetite ¹  of the wicked desires ²  evil; his neighbor is shown no favor ³  in his eyes.

The wicked man craves evil; his neighbour gets no mercy from him.

The soul of the wicked desires evil; His neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.

Evil people love to harm others; their neighbors get no mercy from them.

Wicked souls love to make trouble; they feel nothing for friends and neighbors.

The desire of the evil-doer is fixed on evil: he has no kind feeling for his neighbour.

The souls of the wicked desire evil; their neighbors find no mercy in their eyes.

The soul of the wicked desires evil; His neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.

The appetite ¹  of the wicked desires ²  evil; his neighbor is shown no favor ³  in his eyes.

¹ tn Heb “soul.” The Hebrew text uses נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, traditionally, “soul”) as the formal subject of the sentence – “the soul of a wicked man desires.” This term has at its core the idea of appetites, and so its use here underscores that the cravings are deep-seated (BDB 660 s.v. 5), and the translation “appetite” reflects this.

² sn The word has the meanings of “desire, crave, long for, lust after.” It usually has “soul” as its subject. The word is used in the Ten Commandments in the prohibition against coveting a neighbor’s house (Deut 5:18).

³ tn The form יֻחַן (yukhan) is a Hophal imperfect from חָנַן (khanan); it means “to be shown mercy” – here negated to mean “he will not be shown mercy.” The person who lives to satisfy his own craving for evil will not be interested in meeting the needs of others.