The Meaning of Proverbs 12:6 Explained

Proverbs 12:6

KJV: The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

YLT: The words of the wicked are: 'Lay wait for blood,' And the mouth of the upright delivereth them.

Darby: The words of the wicked are a lying-in-wait for blood; but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

ASV: The words of the wicked are of lying in wait for blood; But the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The words  of the wicked  [are] to lie in wait  for blood:  but the mouth  of the upright  shall deliver  them. 

What does Proverbs 12:6 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The words of the wicked, particularly their false accusations, are an ambush, but the words of the upright are straightforward and sincere (cf. Proverbs 1:18). [1]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 12

1  Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge

What do the individual words in Proverbs 12:6 mean?

The words of the wicked [are] Lie in wait for blood but the mouth of the upright will deliver them
דִּבְרֵ֣י רְשָׁעִ֣ים אֱרָב־ דָּ֑ם וּפִ֥י יְ֝שָׁרִ֗ים יַצִּילֵֽם

דִּבְרֵ֣י  The  words 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
רְשָׁעִ֣ים  of  the  wicked 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
אֱרָב־  [are]  Lie  in  wait 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָרַב  
Sense: to lie in wait, ambush, lurk.
דָּ֑ם  for  blood 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּם  
Sense: blood.
וּפִ֥י  but  the  mouth 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.
יְ֝שָׁרִ֗ים  of  the  upright 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: יָשָׁר 
Sense: straight, upright, correct, right.
יַצִּילֵֽם  will  deliver  them 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: נָצַל  
Sense: to snatch away, deliver, rescue, save, strip, plunder.