6:13a–c

winking his eyes, speaking with his feet, and pointing with his fingers: There are two ways to interpret these three gestures:

(1) As the scoundrel deceives people, he makes gestures to his friends to indicate his true intentions. These gestures communicate his insincerity, mockery, and delight in making mischief. For example:

signaling their true intentions to their friends by making signs with their eyes and feet and fingers (New Living Translation (1996))

(2) The scoundrel makes these gestures to deceive those against whom he is planning evil. Here is another way to translate this:

They wink and make gestures to deceive you (Good News Translation)

Most versions, like the Berean Standard Bible and Revised Standard Version, leave the purpose of the gestures implicit. These versions do not specify the people to whom the gestures are made. If this information needs to be made explicit in your language, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Most scholars support that view and it better fits human experience. A scoundrel is more likely to make mischievous or mocking gestures to his fellow conspirators than to the person he is trying to deceive.

6:13b

speaking with his feet: The exact nature of the gesture speaking with his feet is not clear in Hebrew. That is probably why the New International Version and some other English versions translate this phrase with the general word “signals.” The New Jerusalem Bible has “shuffles,” the Revised English Bible has “nudge with the foot” and the New Century Version has “tapping with their feet.” But it is probably better not to specify a particular movement with the foot unless such a gesture is used in your language to indicate to a friend that you are being deceptive.

6:13c

and pointing with his fingers: The type of pointing that the person makes with his fingers is not clear in Hebrew, so most versions use a general expression, as in the Berean Standard Bible. For example:

making signs with their fingers (New Century Version)

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