Proverbs 11:9

11:9 With his speech ¹  the godless person ²  destroys ³  his neighbor,

but by knowledge ⁴  the righteous will be delivered.

Romans 16:18

16:18 For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds ⁵  of the naive.

Romans 16:2

16:2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and provide her with whatever help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many, including me.

Romans 2:3

2:3 And do you think, ⁶  whoever you are, when you judge ⁷  those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, ⁸  that you will escape God’s judgment?

¹ tn Heb “with his mouth.” The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech.

² sn The Hebrew word originally meant “impious, godless, polluted, profane.” It later developed the idea of a “hypocrite” (Dan 11:32), one who conceals his evil under the appearance of godliness or kindness. This one is a false flatterer.

³ sn The verb שָׁחַת (shakhat) means “to destroy; to ruin” (e.g., the destruction of Sodom in Gen 13:10). The imperfect tense is probably not an habitual imperfect (because the second colon shows exceptions), but probably a progressive imperfect (“this goes on”) or potential imperfect (“they can do this”).

⁴ sn The antithetical proverb states that a righteous person can escape devastating slander through knowledge. The righteous will have sufficient knowledge and perception to see through the hypocrisy and avoid its effect.

⁵ tn Grk “hearts.”

⁶ tn Grk “do you think this,” referring to the clause in v. 3b.

⁷ tn Grk “O man, the one who judges.”

⁸ tn Grk “and do them.” The other words are supplied to bring out the contrast implied in this clause.