According to Scott, this verse is linked to the previous verse; that is, in the presence of a king who can see everything that is evil, nobody who is guilty can claim to be innocent. But more likely this is an independent saying that makes a convincing comment about the sinfulness of the human race.

“Who can say. . .?”: This introduces a rhetorical question to which the answer is “No one”; “There is nobody who can claim to be. . ..” This may be the sort of rhetorical question that is used and understood in many languages, and so it may be rendered more or less literally. Both Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version vary it slightly: “Can anyone really say. . .?”

““I have made my heart clean””: “Clean” is used here in the sense of moral purity. The verb translated “made . . . clean” is a causative form in Hebrew, which can also mean “kept . . . pure” (New International Version). The verb may also be translated in terms of the present state of affairs: “My heart is clean” (Scott), “My thoughts are pure” (Contemporary English Version). In English the word “heart” is mostly used in the context of emotions or affections and not in the context of morality; the more natural way to express the sense of this line is to say “I have a clear conscience” (Revised English Bible). Good News Translation uses this same expression, but makes a change to indirect speech: “. . . say that his conscience is clear.”

““I am pure from my sin””: The meaning of “I am pure” is very similar to that of “I have made clean” in the first line. The term is commonly used to refer to being made clean in a ceremonial sense, so it may mean that the person did sin in the past but has now been made pure. (The first line may be taken to mean this also.) Along with Revised Standard Version, translations that express this sense are, for example, “I am purified of my sin” (New Jerusalem Bible), “has gotten rid of his sin” (Good News Translation), and “my sins are gone” (Contemporary English Version). Translations that leave the matter of past sin open in this line are, for example, “I am free of offense” (Scott) and “I am clean and without sin” (New International Version).

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 .