Genesis 33:13-14

33:13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die. 33:14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the herds and the children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”

Proverbs 12:10

12:10 A righteous person cares for the life of his animal,

but even the most compassionate acts of the wicked are cruel.


tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn Heb “weak.”

tn Heb “and the sheep and the cattle nursing [are] upon me.”

tn Heb “and I, I will move along according to my leisure at the foot of the property which is before me and at the foot of the children.”

tn Heb “knows”; NLT “concerned for the welfare of.” The righteous take care of animals, not just people.

tn Heb “but the mercies.” The additional words appear in the translation for the sake of clarification. The line can be interpreted in two ways: (1) when the wicked exhibit a kind act, they do it in a cruel way, or (2) even the kindest of their acts is cruel by all assessments, e.g., stuffing animals with food to fatten them for market – their “kindness” is driven by ulterior motives (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 129).