This is one of the very few sayings in Proverbs that speak of forgiveness for the sinner.

“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper”: “Conceals” renders a word meaning to cover and refers to the refusal to confess the wrong that has been committed. “Transgressions” is rendered “offenses” in 10.12 and here refers to “sins,” “evil deeds,” or “wrongs.” “Prosper” translates a word meaning to advance in an undertaking or to be successful. Bible en français courant translates this line “Nothing will succeed for the one who hides his wrongs.”

“But he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy”: “Confesses” renders a verb whose meaning is usually “to thank” or “to praise,” but in the reflexive form used here it means to confess, that is, to acknowledge or admit, in this case to God, that you have done wrong. “Forsakes” means to abandon or cease doing the wrong thing. “Them” refers back to the “transgressions” in line 1. “Will obtain mercy” means in an active sense that “God will be merciful to you” or “God will show you kindness.” The sense is that God’s “mercy” will enable the person who repents to become successful, to “prosper”. Good News Translation is a good model translation.

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 .