Proverbs 12:7

12:7 The wicked are overthrown ¹  and perish, ² 

but the righteous household ³  will stand.

Proverbs 17:20

17:20 The one who has a perverse heart ⁴  does not find good, ⁵ 

and the one who is deceitful in speech ⁶  falls into trouble.

[12:7]  ¹ sn This proverb is about the stability of the righteous in times of trouble. The term “overthrown” might allude to Gen 19:21.

[12:7]  ² tn Heb “and they are not.”

[12:7]  ³ tn Heb “the house of the righteous.” The genitive צַדִּיקִים (tsadiqim) functions as an attributive adjective: “righteous house.” The noun בֵּית (bet, “house”) functions as a synecdoche of container (= house) for the contents (= family, household; perhaps household possessions). Cf. NCV “a good person’s family”; NLT “the children of the godly.”

[17:20]  ⁴ tn The verse parallels two descriptions of the wicked person: “crooked/perverse of heart” (genitive of specification), and “turned away in his tongue” (deceitful). The first phrase describes twisted intentions. The second, using the Niphal participle (“one turned away”) with “tongue,” the metonymy of cause, describes one who has turned away from speaking truth. Cf. NLT “the twisted tongue tumbles into trouble.”

[17:20]  ⁵ tn The phrase “does not find good” is a figure (tapeinosis) meaning, “will experience calamity.” The wicked person can expect trouble ahead.

[17:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “tongue”; NIV “whose tongue is deceitful.”