Proverbs 20:19
in Proverbs 20He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He that goeth about as a tale-bearer revealeth secrets; Therefore company not with him that openeth wide his lips.
KJV
He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
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This verse in Proverbs 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Flattereth - literally, “The man who opens his lips,” who has no reticence; such a man, with or without intending it, does the work of a talebearer.
This site's exposition
Take the garment of the one
on Proverbs 20:16-19
Food gained by fraud is sweet at first, "but later his mouth is full of gravel," dishonest gain tasted at its true weight. Plans are set by consultation and war waged under sound guidance, and the one who reveals secrets is named "a constant gossip" to be avoided.
This site's exposition
avoid the one who babbles with his lips
Albert Barnes renders the babbler as the man who opens his lips, one with no reticence. Such a man does the work of a gossip whether he intends it or no. Avoid him.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And he who reveals mysteries, etc. If anyone wishes to join your circle of friends and you see him revealing the secrets of a former friend, beware of him as a traitor.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
with one who divulges secrets, one who gossips, or with one who entices with his lips who speaks smoothly to seduce you and entice you.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Plans with counsel will be established, and with strategies wage war If you come to wage war against Satan, come with strategies of repentance, prayer and fasting.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גּֽוֹלֶה־ | goleh- | [is] uncovering | H1540 → | 186 times |
| סּ֭וֹד | sod | secret counsel | H5475 → | 21 times |
| הוֹלֵ֣ךְ | holekh | [one who] goes about | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| רָכִ֑יל | rakhil | a slanderer | H7400 → | |
| וּלְפֹתֶ֥ה | ulefoteh | and to [one who] opens | H6601 → | 28 times |
| שְׂ֝פָתָ֗יו | sefatav | lips his | H8193 → | 176 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִתְעָרָֽב׃ | titarav | you will get involved | H6148 → | 22 times |
גּֽוֹלֶה־[is] uncovering
goleh-H1540 →186 times
סּ֭וֹדsecret counsel
sodH5475 →21 times
הוֹלֵ֣ךְ[one who] goes about
holekhH1980 →1546 times
רָכִ֑ילa slanderer
rakhilH7400 →
וּלְפֹתֶ֥הand to [one who] opens
ulefotehH6601 →28 times
שְׂ֝פָתָ֗יוlips his
sefatavH8193 →176 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִתְעָרָֽב׃you will get involved
titaravH6148 →22 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 13:3He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.
it leads to
- Proverbs 21:23
He who guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from distress.
- Proverbs 18:21
Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
- Proverbs 18:7
A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
- James 3:2–12
We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.
- Psalms 39:1
I said, “I will watch my ways so that I will not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are present.”
- Proverbs 21:23
Through
Proverbs 11:13A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:16
You must not go about spreading slander among your people. You must not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 19:16
Through
Romans 16:18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
it leads to
- Colossians 2:4
I say this so that no one will deceive you by smooth rhetoric.
- Colossians 2:4
Through
Leviticus 19:16You must not go about spreading slander among your people. You must not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.
it leads to
- Exodus 23:1
“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.
- Exodus 23:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
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); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.