SUMMARY
Both the righteousA righteous person is one who is ethical and faithful to God's covenant. Righteousness in the Old Testament is an attitude of God; in the New Testament it is a gift of God through grace. In the New Testament righteousness is a relationship with God... and the wicked have power in their speech.
ANALYSIS
Proverbs 11:9-11 exhibits the power of exultation and the power of speech in the very way these three verses are held together. In the Hebrew each half verse begins with the same preposition, “Be”. “With”, “by”, and “when” are all translations of that same preposition, which consists of one letter that is tied to the word which follows. This underlines the remarkable repetition of these verses:
9 With their mouths the godless would destroy their neighbors,
but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.
10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices;
and when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.
11 By the blessingBlessing is the asking for or the giving of God's favor. Isaac was tricked into blessing Jacob instead of his firstborn Esau. At the Last Supper Jesus offered a blessing over bread and wine. To be blessed is to be favored by God. of the upright a city is exalted,
but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
