“Blessings are on the head of the righteous”: “Blessings” refers generally to God looking favorably upon someone or something. It includes the benefits that God bestows on his people. “Blessings” or good gifts are given by God or by a superior person to an inferior. In this line God may be the source of the blessings. The Septuagint and the Vulgate add “of the Lord.” Note that this form is used in verse 22. Many translations state or imply that God is the source of the “Blessings” and this is recommended to translators. On the other hand, it is also possible that the “Blessings” are the good words of praise given by other people. “On the head” recalls Jacob blessing his family in Gen 48.14-22 by placing his hands on the heads of his grandchildren. “Righteous” refers to those who are upright, good, honorable people.
“But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence”: This line does not give the expected contrasting parallel. Where we might expect a statement about the fate or disfavor of God toward the wicked, the second line seems to say what the wicked do, that is, they “conceal violence”. Some interpreters believe that a line from verse 11 has replaced the original line that has dropped out. However, it is not unusual for the contrast between the two lines to be weak or absent. “Mouth of the wicked” may refer to the wicked or to what the wicked say. If the source of the “Blessings” or praise expressed in the first line is taken to be people in general, the contrasting parallel in the second line is the violence that the wicked conceal or hide in what they do or say. Bible en français courant translates “Wicked people hide violence in their words.” Some other translations say “but the talk of a bad person hides his thoughts about doing harm to others.”
Contemporary English Version translates the full verse: “Everyone praises good people but evil hides behind the words of the wicked.”
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .