Pro 12:10 | NET2full | STEP | A righteous person cares for the life of his animal , but even the most compassionate acts of the wicked are cruel .

‏ Proverbs 12:10

10 A righteous person cares for ^{▼▼tn Heb “knows”; NLT “concerned for the welfare of.” For יָדַע (yadaʿ) meaning “to care for” see HALOT 391 s.v. Qal 4 and 7, NIDOTTE 401 s.v., and compare Job 9:21; Ps 1:6.} the life of his animal,
but even the most compassionate acts ^{▼▼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.} of the wicked are cruel.