73 Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yéhvah, “the Lord”) functions as a subjective genitive: “the Lord abhors.”
74 The noun מַחְשְׁבוֹת (makhshévot) means “thoughts” (so , , ), from the verb חָשַׁב (khashav, “to think; to reckon; to devise”). So these are intentions, what is being planned (cf. “schemes”).
75 The word רַע (“evil; wicked”) is a genitive of source or subjective genitive, meaning the plans that the wicked devise—“wicked plans.”
76 The contrast is between the “thoughts” and the “words.” The thoughts that are designed to hurt people the Lord hates; words that are pleasant (נֹעַם, no’am), however, are pure (to him). What is pleasant is delightful, lovely, enjoyable.
77 The simply has “but pleasant words are pure” (Heb “but pure [plural] are the words of pleasantness”). Some English versions add “to him” to make the connection to the first part (cf. , ). The has: “the sayings of the pure are held in honor.” The has: “pure speech will be confirmed by him as very beautiful.” The has paraphrased here: “but those of the pure are pleasing to him.”