“From the fruit of his mouth a good man eats good”: This line is similar to 12.14a. “From the fruit of his mouth a good man” is a figurative way of saying, for example, “what a good person says” or “the words that come from a good person’s speech.” “Good” in “good man” is not in the Hebrew text, but Revised Standard Version has interpreted “man” to refer here to a man who is good, in contrast to the “treacherous” in line 2. New Revised Standard Version retains the sense with “good persons.” See also Good News Translation “good people.” “Eats good” is again figurative and means to enjoy something or be rewarded. We may translate, for example, “A good person rejoices in the good things he says.” Bible en français courant keeps the fruit figure by translating “A good person reaps a harvest from what he says.”

“But the desire of the treacherous is for violence”: “Desire” translates the Hebrew for “soul,” which is often used in the sense of “appetite,” “what a person craves to eat.” “Treacherous” refers to someone who betrays trust or is dangerously deceitful (see 2.22). “Violence” is the use of unjust force or abusive power. For “violence” see also 4.17. In this line “desire” is the equivalent for the verb “eat” in line 1. Some translations express the sense of “desire” in a way that parallels the sense of “eat”; for example, “feeds on violence” (New Jerusalem Bible) and “are hungry for violence” (Good News Translation). The “treacherous” person contrasts with the “good man”, and “violence” contrasts somewhat with the “fruit of his mouth” (good speech) in line 1. Line 2 may be rendered, for example, “but deceitful people want to act violently against others” or “but traitors look for opportunities to be cruel to others.”

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 .