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20 Deceit[a] is in the heart of those who plot evil,[b]
but those who promote peace[c] have joy.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:20 tc Rather than the MT’s מִרְמָה (mirmah, “deceit”), the BHS editors suggest מֹרָה (morah, “bitterness, sorrow”) as a contrast to joy in the second half.
  2. Proverbs 12:20 sn The contrast here is between “evil” (= pain and calamity) and “peace” (= social wholeness and well-being); see, e.g., Pss 34:14; 37:37.
  3. Proverbs 12:20 tn Heb “those who are counselors of peace.” The term שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is an objective genitive, so the genitive-construct “counselors of peace” means those who advise, advocate or promote peace (cf. NAB, NIV).