10:11

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning.

11a
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,

11b but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

In Hebrew, the parallel parts form a chiasm. The parts in 10:11b occur in the opposite order from the parallel parts in 10:11a. The New American Bible is one of the few versions that preserves the chiasm in English. It has:

11a
A fountain of life is the mouth of the just,

11b but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

You will need to decide whether it is effective to use a chiasm here in your language.

10:11a

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life: The mouth is a figure of speech (metonymy). It represents the words that the mouth speaks. The whole line is a metaphor. The words that a righteous person speaks are compared to a spring or other source of life-giving water. See the note on “fountain” in 5:18a.

If this metaphor does not express the meaning clearly in your language, some other ways to translate the metaphor are:

• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:

The words of a good person give life, like a fountain of water (New Century Version)

• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:

The words of good people are a source of life (Contemporary English Version)

However, a source of good drinking water, such as a spring or well, is a meaningful figure of speech in most parts of the world. It helps people to think about the meaning. So if possible, you should keep the figure of speech.