A QUESTION
Hugo McCord
A question has come about the translation of Proverbs 10:6. According to Hebrew grammar, both of the following translations are correct:
(1) Blessings are upon the head of the just; but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked (KJV, and similarly NKJV, ASV, NIV);
(2) Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence (NASB, and similarly the marginal reading of the ASV, NIV).
The second clause of # 1 is senseless. The second clause of # 2 is sensible, and parallels Proverbs 28:13:
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whosoever confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy (KJV, and similarly NKJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
The second clause of # 2 and both of the clauses in Proverbs 28:13 are exemplified in David (Psalm 51:3) and in Ananias and Sappira (Acts 5:1-11).