The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.
Parallel translations
- WEB The words of a gossip are like dainty morsels: they go down into a person’s innermost parts.
- KJV The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
- NKJV The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body.
- NASB The words of a gossiper are like dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.
- NLT Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart.
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
Gossip is tempting and sinks deep into the hearer's heart. Whispered slander is eagerly received and leaves lasting damage.
Overview
The words of a gossip are likened to 'dainty morsels,' delicious and easily swallowed, that lodge deep within a person. The proverb exposes both the seductive appeal of gossip and its penetrating, lingering harm. Scripture repeatedly condemns the talebearer (Lev. 19:16; Prov. 16:28), and the gospel calls believers instead to speech that builds up, reflecting the truthfulness and love of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Lev 19:16You must not go about spreading slander among your people. You must not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.
- Prov 16:28A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends.
- Prov 12:18Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
- Prov 26:20–22Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.
- Ps 52:2Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.
- Ps 64:3–4who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows,
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 18:8 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
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