The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Parallel translations
- WEB The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, they go down into the innermost parts.
- 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 swallowed like tasty morsels, sinking deep into the heart. Slander is appealing yet inwardly corrupting.
Overview
Repeating Proverbs 18:8, the verse exposes the seductive pleasure of gossip and how it lodges deep within, shaping our view of others. Its sweetness masks its poison. The proverb warns against entertaining slander, which corrupts the heart that welcomes it (Jas 1:26).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Prov 18:8The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
- Prov 20:19He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
- Ezek 22:9In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness.
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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 26:22 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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