Proverbs 18:6
in Proverbs 18A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A fool’s lips enter into contention, And his mouth calleth for stripes.
KJV
A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.
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This verse in Proverbs 18
Commentary
3 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The first verse speaks of the immediate, the others of the remote, results of the “fool’s” temper. First, “contention,” then “strokes” or blows, then “destruction,” and last, “wounds.” Pro 18:8 Wounds - The word so rendered occurs here and in Pro 26:22 only. Others render it “dainties,” and take the verse to describe the avidity with which people swallow in tales of scandal. They find their way to the innermost recesses of man’s nature.
This site's exposition
A fool’s lips enter into contention
on Proverbs 18:6-9
A fool's lips walk straight into a quarrel, and his mouth invites the very blows it should avoid, his own destruction and his soul's snare in one line. The talebearer's words are wounds that go down into the innermost parts, an image repeated later at 26:22 that the bench reads as the book's settled verdict on gossip's real damage. The slothful worker is named brother to a great waster, since wasted effort and wasted time spend the same coin.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A fool's lips enter into contention,.... That is, between others, when he has nothing to do with it; but he must be meddling, and make himself a party in the contention, which is an argument of his folly; he says things which occasion disputes, raise contentions among men, and provoke to wrath and anger.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שִׂפְתֵ֣י | siftei | [the] lips of | H8193 → | 176 times |
| כְ֭סִיל | khesil | a fool | H3684 → | 70 times |
| יָבֹ֣אֽוּ | yavou | they go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בְרִ֑יב | veriv | in strife | H7379 → | 61 times |
| וּ֝פִ֗יו | ufiv | and mouth his | H6310 → | 498 times |
| לְֽמַהֲלֻמ֥וֹת | lemahalumot | for blows | H4112 → | |
| יִקְרָֽא׃ | yikra' | it calls | H7121 → | 733 times |
שִׂפְתֵ֣י[the] lips of
sifteiH8193 →176 times
כְ֭סִילa fool
khesilH3684 →70 times
יָבֹ֣אֽוּthey go
yavouH935 →2568 times
בְרִ֑יבin strife
verivH7379 →61 times
וּ֝פִ֗יוand mouth his
ufivH6310 →498 times
לְֽמַהֲלֻמ֥וֹתfor blows
lemahalumotH4112 →
יִקְרָֽא׃it calls
yikra'H7121 →733 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 12:16A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.
it leads to
- Proverbs 29:11
A fool vents all his anger, but a wise man holds it back.
- James 1:19
My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
- Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.
- Proverbs 17:9
Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends.
- Proverbs 25:28
Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who does not control his temper.
- Proverbs 29:11
Through
Proverbs 14:16A wise man fears and turns from evil, but a fool is careless and reckless.
it leads to
- Proverbs 22:3
The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.
- Proverbs 3:7
Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:22
Abstain from every form of evil.
- Proverbs 22:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.