Proverbs 15:26

15:26 The Lord abhors ¹  the plans ²  of the wicked, ³ 

but pleasant words ⁴  are pure. ⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) functions as a subjective genitive: “the Lord abhors.”

² tn The noun מַחְשְׁבוֹת (makhshÿvot) means “thoughts” (so KJV, NIV, NLT), from the verb חָשַׁב (khashav, “to think; to reckon; to devise”). So these are intentions, what is being planned (cf. NAB “schemes”).

³ tn The word רַע (“evil; wicked”) is a genitive of source or subjective genitive, meaning the plans that the wicked devise – “wicked plans.”

⁴ sn The contrast is between the “thoughts” and the “words.” The thoughts that are designed to hurt people the Lord hates; words that are pleasant (נֹעַם, no’am), however, are pure (to him). What is pleasant is delightful, lovely, enjoyable.

⁵ tc The MT simply has “but pleasant words are pure” (Heb “but pure [plural] are the words of pleasantness”). Some English versions add “to him” to make the connection to the first part (cf. NAB, NIV). The LXX has: “the sayings of the pure are held in honor.” The Vulgate has: “pure speech will be confirmed by him as very beautiful.” The NIV has paraphrased here: “but those of the pure are pleasing to him.”