Proverbs 12:6

The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
– Proverbs 12:6

To lie in wait for blood is to set a trap. The words of the wicked are here distinguished from their plans. Their very speech is a snare as well as their schemes (Proverbs 1:11-19). The mouth of the upright is contrasted because their words deliver from snares and nets (Proverbs 10:13, 21, 32). The tension in this proverb is over the instruction of the simple. Will the wicked lure them, or will they learn wisdom at the mouth of the upright? The thought of deliverance here is akin to winning souls in Proverbs 11:30.

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