“A worthless person, a wicked man”: “Worthless” renders a descriptive word used in 1 Sam 25.25 by Abigail to characterize her husband Nabal who had offended David. It describes a person of no account, a good-for-nothing. “Person” translates the Hebrew ʾadam, which can refer to a person of either gender. “A wicked man” is an evil person.

“Goes about with crooked speech”: “Goes about” means such people go here and there and do these things wherever they are. “Crooked speech” is literally “crooked mouth” as used in 4.24. See there for comments. Bible en français courant says, “The one who spreads false words is a nobody and an immoral person.” Contemporary English Version links verse 12 closely to verse 13 by saying “(12) Worthless liars go around (13) winking. . ..”

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 .