As we pointed out at the beginning of this chapter, verses 10-15 are royal proverbs in which a king or kings are the main subjects. These sayings are similar in some respects to the Yahweh proverbs in verses 1-9.
“Inspired decisions are on the lips of a king”: “Inspired decisions” renders a word that is often translated as “divination” in the Old Testament. For examples, see Num 23.23 and Ezek 13.6. The word normally refers to a false practice by people who claim to discover and make known God’s will. However, in the present verse the word has a positive and legitimate sense and is matched in the second line by “judgment”. The thought expressed in the first line is that a king (any king) speaks from a position of authority. Therefore Contemporary English Version says “Rulers speak with authority” and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “The king speaks on behalf of God.” New English Bible/Revised English Bible say “The king’s mouth is an oracle.” An oracle may be understood to be either a god speaking through a human voice or simply a person giving an authoritative or wise answer. The second line of this saying favors something like the rendering of Good News Translation or Biblia Dios Habla Hoy.
“His mouth does not sin in judgment”: “His mouth” refers to the king’s words, what he says, and parallels “lips” in line 1. “Sin” renders a verb meaning to act unfaithfully or treacherously; in relation to acting as judge it means that he does not go wrong or make mistakes. Therefore, Good News Translation has “his decisions are always right.” “Judgment” refers to legal questions brought before the king and which he must decide. We may translate this line, for example, “and he does not make mistakes in deciding legal cases” or “he is right when he decides a case.” Some languages say “and his mouth is straight when he cuts the words.”
Some versions take the verb here as expressing a wish or command rather than making a statement of fact; for example, New International Version has “his mouth should not betray justice” (similarly New Living Translation). This perhaps reflects more the opinion of the translators about present-day rulers than what the writer of these sayings intended; it is not recommended to other translators.
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 .