The words of a gossip are like dainty morsels: they go down into a person’s innermost parts.
Parallel translations
- KJV The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
- BSB The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.
- 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 19:16“‘You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people. “‘You shall not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am Yahweh.
- Prov 16:28A perverse man stirs up strife. A whisperer separates close friends.
- Prov 12:18There is one who speaks rashly like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise heals.
- Prov 26:20–22For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.
- Ps 52:2Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
- Ps 64:3–4who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words,
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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