Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation show in their footnotes that this verse is unclear in Hebrew.

“God scorns the wicked”: This line is literally “Guilt [or, a guilt offering] scorns fools” or “Fools scorn guilt [or, a guilt offering].” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project rates the Hebrew text for this line as “A.” The Revised Standard Version rendering involves changing the words for “fools” into a somewhat similar word meaning “God” and the word for “guilt” into one meaning “wicked”. New Revised Standard Version has changed the Revised Standard Version rendering to “Fools mock at the guilt offering” and recognizes the uncertainty of the Hebrew text in its note.

The variations in the translation of line 1 are almost as numerous as the translations themselves. A comparison of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation illustrates this point. The word translated “guilt” or “guilt offering” in the literal rendering above occurs nowhere else in Proverbs or even in the rest of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. However, if “guilt” is taken in the sense of sin, it would seem that this line may be understood as expressing the way fools look at sin, “Fools scorn [make fun of, mock] sin.” So Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates “Fools make fun of their sin.” Contemporary English Version says “Fools don’t care if they are wrong.” For a somewhat similar rendering see Good News Translation.

“But the upright enjoy his favor”: This line is literally “but among the upright [is] favor.” “Upright”, which refers to honest, good people, was first used in 2.7. “His” is not represented in the Hebrew. “Favor” renders a word first used in 8.35 and refers to “pleasure,” “acceptance,” or “goodwill.” Revised Standard Version has assumed that “favor” is God’s favor. The Good News Translation rendering “forgiven” may also assume that it is God’s favor, as does Contemporary English Version, “but God is pleased when people do right,” which is a satisfactory model translation of this line.

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 .