The theme of this saying is that wicked people have a desire for, or enjoy, doing evil. For other expressions of this theme, see 4.16 and 10.23. The two lines are parallel, with the second extending or giving an application of the sense of the first.

“The soul of the wicked desires evil”: “The soul of” a person refers to the person’s mind or will in a context like this. Scott translates “mind”; but with a verb of desiring or intention it is more natural in many languages to render “The soul of the wicked” simply as “The wicked” or “Wicked people” (Good News Translation). The sense of the Hebrew verb “desires” is what a person naturally or characteristically wants; here it describes a habitual action or attitude. It is well rendered by English verbs like “is intent on” (New Jerusalem Bible), “are set on” (Revised English Bible), “are always hungry for” (Good News Translation), and “craves” (New International Version).

“His neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes”: “His neighbor”, as in 3.28, does not mean only the person who lives nearby. It is the term that is often translated “friend” and can also mean “his fellow man” (Scott) or any other person (Good News Translation “anyone”). The verb rendered “finds no mercy” is a passive form, meaning “is not shown favor [or, consideration],” and in this context “in his eyes” means simply “from him” (New International Version). Translators may need to restructure the line to whatever is more natural for them. Some examples of restructuring are “his neighbor gets no mercy from him” (New International Version), “friends do not arouse their pity” (Revised English Bible), “he has no mercy for his fellow man” (Scott), and “they have no mercy on anyone” (Good News Translation).

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 .