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The Righteous One and the Wicked One

Proverbs 10:6 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

Blessings are on the head of the righteous: The Hebrew noun (בָּרַךְ barak) when referring to God blessing a human, it is pronouncing good or showing favor, having favorable circumstances or state at a future time (Gen. 1:22) for those who have a righteous standing before him. The Hebrew noun here (בְּרָכָה berakah) rendered blessings is commonly referring to God bringing life and prosperity to someone or some group that he looks favorably upon. This includes the benefit of being one of God’s people. Nevertheless, the verse here does not specifically say that God is the source of the blessings, even though the Septuagint reads, “A blessing from the Lord is upon the head of the righteous,”^[1] and the Vulgate has “The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the righteous.” However, if we look ahead to verse 22 of this chapter ten, we have “The blessing of Jehovah makes rich, and he adds no sorrow to it.” The literal translations (YLT, ASV, RSV, NASB, UASV), essentially literal (ESV), and the optimally literal (CSB) do not go beyond the Hebrew text into the interpretative realm of signaling who the source is. However, some of the interpretive translations state or imply that God is the source of the blessings. (NLT, NLV) Then, again, the source of blessings may be the praise that one receives from other people because they live a righteous life.

Putting the hands on the head reminds us of the time that Jacob blessed his family in Genesis 48:12-22 when he placed his hand upon the heads of the grandchildren. The Hebrew word barak^[2] has the meaning “to kneel,” which is bending the knees and kneeling, as well as “to be blessed.” Therefore, it was common for the person who was receiving the blessing to kneel down and bow themselves before the one who was giving them the blessing. Then, the one giving the blessing would place his hands on the head of the one he was blessing. (Gen. 48:13-14; Mark 10:16) Righteous (צַדִּיק tsaddiq) refers to one who is characterized by righteous actions and morals; they are upright, good, and honorable. The person who is righteous at heart gives abundant evidence of that. As Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matt. 12:34-35) Yes, a righteous person often speaks things that are kind and caring, and they act accordingly.

but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence: This is not the normal contrasting parallel that we have grown accustomed to here in Proverbs. We might think this line would cover the curses on the head of the wicked. However, instead of what will happen to the wicked, we get what the wicked will do. Some interpreters believe that the second line of this verse is lost, and the line from verse 11 somehow replaced it, as it reads exactly the same. However, the contrasts in Proverbs are not always what we expect they should be, as they can be no contrast at all.

CHRISTIANS: What is Grace and What Is the Purpose of Grace?

How is it that “the mouth of the wicked conceals violence”? The mouth of the wicked may come in the form of insincerely praising someone in order to persuade them to do something, being done with the malicious intent of causing harm. It can also be deceptively saying something that has some truth to it and contains lies to persuade another that some misinformation is true. Again, this, too, is done with malicious intent to cause harm. Then, again, it could be that the wicked are largely treated with hostility, and the unfriendliness they receive from others silences them.

The righteous one gives much evidence of his morally upright behavior and words. His behavior is positive, generous, and is to be admired and mimicked; his words are kind, gracious, caring, empathetic, and upbuilding. Others view the righteous one favorably. Such a person receives their appreciation and blessings in that they speak well of the righteous one. On the other hand, a wicked person is detestable, hateful, and malicious, always seeking to do harm to others. His words are well chosen so as to conceal the violence in his heart, with some occasions when he gives way to physical or verbal attacks. The wicked one merits no blessing from anyone, receiving curses instead of praise.

[1] Rick Brannan et al., eds., The Lexham English Septuagint (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Pr 10:6.

[2] W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 18.