“The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood”: In this saying “The words of the wicked” pick up the theme of deceit from the previous line and picture the words as persons ready to ambush the righteous. For “lie in wait for blood” see the comments on 1.11. There the sense is literal, but in this verse “The words” “of the wicked” are represented as a deadly trap to ensnare and destroy others. In many languages this line must be reworded, since “words . . . wicked” cannot be used in this poetic manner. It may be possible to shift to a simile and say, for example, “The words of the wicked are like a trap” or “What the wicked say is like bandits lying in ambush.” Contemporary English Version has “Bad advice is a deadly trap.” See Good News Translation.

“But the mouth of the upright delivers men”: “Mouth” in this line matches “words” in the first line. “Mouth” and “words” may refer here to what is said by witnesses in a trial or similar situation. For “upright” see 2.7. “Delivers men” is literally “delivers them.” It is not certain who “them” represents, but it is probably the persons who may be ambushed and caught by the wicked in line 1. Bible en français courant says “What upright persons say protects others from death”; some others say “. . . help people when they are in trouble.” Note Good News Translation “those who are threatened” refers to the same victims as in line 1. Others make no attempt to do this. For example, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “The words of an evil person are a deadly trap; those of a good man are salvation.”

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 .