Proverbs 26:22
in Proverbs 26The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts.
KJV
The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
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This verse in Proverbs 26
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. These expressions are the same with those in Pro 18:8; and are here repeated, as being found along with others by the men of Hezekiah, Pro 25:1; as some others likewise are; and also because of the importance of them; and to impress the minds of men with a sense of the evil of such a practice, that they may shun it, and avoid those that are given to it. See Gill on Pro 18:8.
This site's exposition
Like one who grabs a dog by the ears
on Proverbs 26:17-22
A passerby who meddles in a quarrel not his own has grabbed a dog by the ears, safe neither holding on nor letting go. The man who deceives his neighbor and calls it a joke is a madman shooting firebrands and deadly arrows. Strife dies when no one feeds it.
This site's exposition
The words of a gossip
The words of a gossip go down like choice morsels into the inmost being, and the saying repeats 18:8. John Gill explains the repetition by its importance. Matthew Henry traces the harm of such words to the name of the one slandered and to the hearer's love for his neighbor.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
The words of a whisperer are as simple, etc. He calls the whisperer an instigator of strife and double-tongued, who pretends to praise words and seeks to hear that from which he can sow discord.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They wound the reputation of him who is belied, and perhaps the wound proves incurable, and even the plaster of a recantation (which yet can seldom be obtained) may not prove wide enough for it. They wound the love and charity which he to whom they are spoken ought to have for his neighbour and give a fatal stab to friendship and Christian fellowship.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The words of a tale-bearer - The same with Pro 18:8 (note), where see the note.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דִּבְרֵ֣י | divrei | [the] words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| נִ֭רְגָּן | nirgon | a slanderer | H7279 → | 7 times |
| כְּמִֽתְלַהֲמִ֑ים | kemitlahamim | [are] like delicacies | H3859 → | |
| וְ֝הֵ֗ם | vehem | and they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| יָרְד֥וּ | yaredu | they go down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| חַדְרֵי־ | chadrei- | [the] chambers of | H2315 → | 38 times |
| בָֽטֶן׃ | vaten | [the] belly | H990 → | 72 times |
דִּבְרֵ֣י[the] words of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
נִ֭רְגָּןa slanderer
nirgonH7279 →7 times
כְּמִֽתְלַהֲמִ֑ים[are] like delicacies
kemitlahamimH3859 →
וְ֝הֵ֗םand they
vehemH1992 →553 times
יָרְד֥וּthey go down
yareduH3381 →381 times
חַדְרֵי־[the] chambers of
chadrei-H2315 →38 times
בָֽטֶן׃[the] belly
vatenH990 →72 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 18:8The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.
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 3 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 12:18
Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
- Proverbs 16:28
A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends.
- Proverbs 26:20–22
Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.
- Leviticus 19:16
Through
Proverbs 20:19He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.
it leads to
- Proverbs 11:13
A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.
- Romans 16:18
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- Proverbs 18:8
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.
- Proverbs 13:3
He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.
- Proverbs 11:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.