“The mind of the righteous ponders how to answer”: “Mind”, as in verse 14, is literally “heart.” “Ponders” renders a verb meaning “to meditate.” In this context it refers to thought or reflection. In many languages it is not “The mind” that thinks but rather the person possessing the mind, so we could translate, for example, “Good people think before giving someone an answer.”

“But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things”: See verse 2b, where the expression is the “mouths of fools.” Fools and the “wicked” are often equated in Proverbs. “Mouth” is parallel with “mind” or “heart” in the previous line. “Pours out” was used in verse 2 with “folly” as the object. See there for comments. “Pours out” means to speak hastily or without thinking, and contrasts with the deliberate pondering or reflecting before speaking in the previous line. “Evil things” means “bad words,” “accusations,” or “unkind words.”

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 .