“All the words of my mouth are righteous”: This line says essentially the same as the first line of verse 7. “Righteous” means “right,” “straight,” “clear,” or “honest.”

“There is nothing twisted or crooked in them”: This line repeats in the negative what was affirmed in the first line. “Twisted”, which means to coil, wind, or entwine, is used figuratively here to represent something spoken in a false, distorted, or misleading manner. “Crooked” is the same word as used in 2.15 in relation to paths. A noun from the same root is used in 4.24 in connection with speech. Many languages have figurative terms such as “crooked” to express the idea of false and misleading speech. One translation spells out “twisted or crooked” in everyday language, saying “I don’t deceive, and I don’t lead people on the wrong road.”

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 .