Matthew Henry on Proverbs 12:6
In the foregoing verse the thoughts of the wicked and righteous were compared; here their words, and those are as the abundance of the heart is. 1. Wicked people speak mischief to their neighbours; and wicked indeed those are whose words are to lie in wait for blood; their tongues are swords to those that stand in their way, to good men whom they hate and persecute. See an instance, Luk 20:20, Luk 20:21. 2. Good men speak help to their neighbours: The mouth of the upright is ready to be opened in the cause of those that are oppressed (Pro 31:8), to plead for them, to witness for them, and so to deliver them, particularly those whom the wicked lie in wait for. A man may sometimes do a very go…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 12:6
The words--or, "expressed designs" of the wicked are for evil purposes.
the mouth--or, "words" of the righteous delivering instead of ensnaring men.
John Gill on Proverbs 12:6
The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood,.... Which some understand of perjury and false witness, as Jarchi, whereby the lives of innocent persons are taken away: or it may be interpreted either of the smooth words and fair speeches, and secret artifices, antichrist and his emissaries make use of to entrap the innocent, and draw them into their net, to their ruin; see Psalm 10:7; as the Jews attempted to deal with Christ, Luke 20:20; or of the laws and edicts of the beast, that such should be killed who would not worship his image; and with the blood of these innocent ones the whore of Rome is said to be drunk, Revelation 13:15;
but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them: t…
Read the whole note in the consoleKeil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 12:6
6 The word of the godless is to lie in wait for the blood of others,
But the mouth of the upright delivereth them.
Our editions have דברי רשׁעים, but the right sequence of the accents (in Cod. 1294 and elsewhere) is דברי רשׁעים; the logical relation in this transformation, which is only rhythmically conditioned, remains the same. The vocalization wavers between ארב־, which would be imper., and ארב־, which is infin., like אמר־, Pro 25:7, ענשׁ־, Pro 21:11, אכל־, Gen 3:11. However one punctuates it, the infin. is intended in any case, in which the expression always remains sketchy enough: the words of the godless are lying in wait for blood, i.e., they are calculated to bring others to this, in…
