“Righteous lips are the delight of a king”: “Righteous” picks up the term from line 2 in the previous verse and adds “lips”, to make an expression that refers to honest talk or truthful speech. “Delight” translates the same Hebrew word used in 11.1 and means “to take pleasure,” “to be glad or happy.” Revised English Bible has “Honest speech is what pleases kings.” The Hebrew text has “kings,” and this form is recommended by Hebrew Old Testament Text Project. However, the verb “loves” in the second line is singular, and the Septuagint and the ancient versions have “king,” as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. If “kings” is used in the first line, it will be necessary to use a plural form in the second line, for example, “They love those who. . ..”

“And he loves him who speaks what is right”: In Revised Standard Version “he” refers to the king. Revised Standard Version “him” has been revised by New Revised Standard Version to “those.” “What is right” means “honest words” or “the truth.” See Good News Translation.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .