Pro 20:8 | NET2full | STEP | A king sitting on the throne to judge separates out all evil with his eyes .

‏ Proverbs 20:8

8 A king sitting on the throne to judge ^{▼▼tn The infinitive construct דִּין (din, “to judge”) indicates purpose (so NIV, NCV), even though it does not have a preposition with it.}
separates out ^{▼▼tn The second line uses the image of winnowing (cf. NIV, NRSV) to state that the king’s judgment removes evil from the realm. The verb form is מְזָרֶה (mezareh), the Piel participle. It has been translated “to sift; to winnow; to scatter” and “to separate”—i.e., separate out evil from the land. The text is saying that a just government roots out evil (cf. NAB “dispels all evil”), but few governments have been consistently just.} all evil with his eyes. ^{▼▼sn The phrase with his eyes indicates that the king will closely examine or look into all the cases that come before him.}