Amsal 16:13

16:13 The delight of kings ¹  is righteous counsel, ² 

and they love the one who speaks ³  uprightly. ⁴ 

Yesaya 45:19

45:19 I have not spoken in secret,

in some hidden place. ⁵ 

I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain!’ ⁶ 

I am the Lord,

the one who speaks honestly,

who makes reliable announcements. ⁷ 

Yeremia 7:28

7:28 So tell them: ‘This is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord their God and has not accepted correction. Faithfulness is nowhere to be found in it. These people do not even profess it anymore. ⁸ 

[16:13]  ¹ tn The MT has the plural, even though the verb “loves” is masculine singular. The ancient versions and two Hebrew mss read “a king.”

[16:13]  ² tn Heb “lips of righteousness”; cf. NAB, NIV “honest lips.” The genitive “righteousness” functions as an attributive adjective. The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause for what is said: “righteous speech” or “righteous counsel.”

[16:13]  ³ tn The MT has the singular participle followed by the plural adjective (which is here a substantive). The editors of BHS wish to follow the ancient versions in making the participle plural, “those who speak uprightly.”

[16:13]  ⁴ sn The verse is talking about righteous kings, of course – they love righteousness and not flattery. In this proverb “righteous” and “upright” referring to what is said means “what is right and straight,” i.e., the truth (cf. NCV).

[45:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”

[45:19]  ⁶ tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”

[45:19]  ⁷ tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”

[7:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “Faithfulness has vanished. It is cut off from their lips.”

[7:28]  sn For the need for faithfulness see 5:1, 3.