12:6

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

6a
The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,

6b but the speech of the upright rescues them.

12:6a

The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood: This line means that wicked people say things with the hidden intention of causing the death of another person. This may refer to telling lies in court or to plotting someone’s murder. The verse itself does not specify how wicked people kill others with their words. This line has three figures of speech: personification, metaphor, and metonymy.

The words of the wicked lie in wait for: In this clause, The words of the wicked are personified. They are described as if they were people waiting in ambush. This clause also functions as a metaphor. It compares the words that wicked people speak to a person who waits in order to ambush someone.

blood: In this context, the word blood is a figure of speech (metonymy). It represents killing someone.

In some languages, a literal translation of these figures of speech may be difficult to understand. Some other ways to translate these figures of speech are:

• Change the metaphor to a simile. Translate the meaning of blood without using a figure of speech. For example:

The words of wicked people are like someone who lies in ambush in order to kill another person.

• Express the meaning of all three figures of speech directly. Do not use figurative language. For example:

Wicked people say things with the hidden intention of causing someone else to die.

12:6b

but the speech of the upright rescues them: This clause means that upright people say things that are needed to rescue or deliver others from death. In this clause, the speech of the upright is personified. Their speech is described as if it were a person who rescues others. It is parallel to “the words of the wicked” in 12:6a.

the upright: In Hebrew, this word refers to people whose conduct is fair and straightforward. See the note on upright in 11:3a.

them: The word them should not refer back to the wicked. It may refer to people who are about to be ambushed. For example:

but the words of the righteous rescue those who are threatened (Good News Translation)

It may also refer to people in general. For example:

but the words of the godly save lives (New Living Translation (2004))

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