The mouths of fools are their ruin; they trap themselves with their lips.
Parallel translations
- WEB A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
- KJV A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.
- BSB A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
- NKJV A fool’s mouth is his destruction, And his lips are the snare of his soul.
- NASB A fool’s mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A fool's own mouth becomes his ruin and a trap for his life. Unguarded speech can destroy the one who speaks it.
Overview
This proverb intensifies verse 6, declaring the fool's mouth his destruction and his lips a snare to his very soul. Foolish words are not merely socially costly but self-entangling and ultimately self-ruinous. The verse warns of the spiritual peril of an undisciplined tongue (James 3:6) and commends the wisdom of guarded speech that flows from a heart made new in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 13:3He who guards his mouth guards his soul. One who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
- Prov 12:13An evil man is trapped by sinfulness of lips, but the righteous shall come out of trouble.
- Prov 10:14Wise men lay up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near ruin.
- Ps 64:8Their own tongues shall ruin them. All who see them will shake their heads.
- Ps 140:9As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
- Eccl 10:11–14If the snake bites before it is charmed, then is there no profit for the charmer’s tongue.
- Prov 10:8The wise in heart accept commandments, but a chattering fool will fall.
- Acts 23:14–22They came to the chief priests and the elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great curse, to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.
- Prov 6:2You are trapped by the words of your mouth. You are ensnared with the words of your mouth.
- Judg 11:35When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are one of those who trouble me; for I have opened my mouth to Yahweh, and I can’t go back.”
- Mark 6:23–28He swore to her, “Whatever you shall ask of me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”
- 1 Sam 14:24–46The men of Israel were distressed that day; for Saul had adjured the people, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until it is evening, and I am avenged of my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 18:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.