The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil (Proverbs 15:28, NKJV). What does the heart of the righteous study? Do they study the Bible? The newspaper? An English grammar book? Other translations read “ponder” (ESV), “consider” (NET), “meditates” (Brenton; LXX), and “thinks carefully” (NLT). The teaching of the first-half of the proverb is this: in the context of a life lived according to a righteous way of thinking, the righteous person will be slow to answer, making sure that which is said by another is thoughtfully considered (cf. James 1:19-20). On the other hand, as the Contemporary English Version (CEV) reads, “Good people think before they answer, but the wicked speak evil without ever thinking.” Whether or not rashness is in view, the point is that the one who lives according to his wicked ways – what wisdom can come from him? RT
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