tn Heb “knows”; NLT “concerned for the welfare of.” The righteous take care of animals, not just people.

tn Heb “but the mercies.” The additional words appear in the translation for the sake of clarification. The line can be interpreted in two ways: (1) when the wicked exhibit a kind act, they do it in a cruel way, or (2) even the kindest of their acts is cruel by all assessments, e.g., stuffing animals with food to fatten them for market—their “kindness” is driven by ulterior motives (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 129).