12:10 A righteous person cares for 5 the life of his animal,
but even the most compassionate acts 6 of the wicked are cruel.
1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “weak.”
3 tn Heb “and the sheep and the cattle nursing [are] upon me.”
4 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.”
5 tn Heb “knows”; NLT “concerned for the welfare of.” The righteous take care of animals, not just people.
6 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).