Text -- Proverbs 10:10 (NET)

10:10 The one who winks his eye causes trouble, and the one who speaks foolishness will come to ruin.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Pro 10:10

¹ tn The term (קָרַץ, qarats) describes a person who habitually “winks” his eye maliciously as a secretive sign to those conspiring evil (Prov 6:13). This is a comparison rather than a contrast. Devious gestures are grievous, but not as ruinous as foolish talk. Both are to be avoided.

² tn Heb “the eye.”

³ tn Heb “gives.”

⁴ tn Heb “the fool of lips”; cf. NASB “a babbling fool.” The phrase is a genitive of specification: “a fool in respect to lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause (= lips) for effect (= speech). The word for fool (אֶוִיל, ’evil) refers to someone who despises knowledge and discernment.