19:28–29

These two proverbs are closely related by two sets of similar words:

(a) the words “mocks” and “mockers”

(b) the words “justice” and “judgments.” In Hebrew, these nouns are slightly different forms of the same root word.

19:28

Notice the parallelism. The word “wicked” in the second line refers to the same person as the “corrupt witness” in the first line.

28a A corrupt witness mocks justice,

28b and a wicked mouth swallows iniquity.

This wicked person is described as using his mouth in two ways. He uses his mouth (implied) to tell lies in court. He also figuratively uses his mouth to gulp down evil.

19:28a

A corrupt witness: This phrase describes a witness who is both wicked and worthless. It is clearly implied that this kind of witness tells lies in court. See the note on 16:27a. In that verse, the Hebrew word for corrupt was translated as “worthless man” due to the different context.

mocks justice: By giving false testimony, this witness shows that he considers the rights of other people to be of no value. He treats with scorn and contempt the idea of justice and the legal system by which it is carried out.

Some other ways to translate 19:28a are:

A lying witness makes a mockery of justice (Revised English Bible)
-or-
A worthless witness mocks justice (God’s Word)

In some languages, there may be a figure of speech that effectively expresses the meaning of mocking justice. Two figures of speech that would be appropriate in English are:

treats the legal system like dirt
-or-
tramples justice under his feet

19:28b

and a wicked mouth swallows iniquity: This clause is a metaphor. In this metaphor, the reaction of a wicked person to evil deeds is compared to the way that people react to food. The similarity is enjoyment. A wicked person enjoys seeing or doing evil as much as people enjoy eating.

In some languages, a literal translation of this metaphor may be difficult to understand. Some other ways to translate it are:

• Use a metaphor and make the similarity explicit. For example:

Wicked people love the taste of evil. (Good News Translation)
-or-
and criminals think crime is really delicious (Contemporary English Version)

• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:

and a wicked person enjoys evil as much as people enjoy eating

• If a figure of speech is not clear or natural, translate the meaning without using figurative language. For example:

and wicked people love what is evil (New Century Version)

Figures of speech help to make a proverb more vivid or easy to remember. So this option should be used only if the other options are not effective.

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