Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, But by the mouth of the godless it is broken down. This verse is related, in the way of confirming it, to Pro 11:10. The lxx, which omits Pro 11:4, here omits 10b and 11a, and combines 10a and 11b into one proverb (vid., Lagarde). The meaning is clear: "by the benedictions and pious prayers of the upright a city rises always to a higher eminence and prosperity; while, on the contrary, the deceitful, arrogant, blasphemous talk of the godless brings ruin to it" (Fl.). The nearest contrast to "by the blessing of the upright" would be "by the cursing of the wicked," but not in the sense of the poet, who means to say that the city raises itself by the blessing of the upright, and on the contrary, when godless men are exalted, then by their words (whose blessing is no better than their curse) it comes to ruin. קרת (= קריה) occurs only four times in Proverbs, and in Job 29:7.