Bible Strands
Proverbs 18:8
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The author addresses a general audience of wisdom-seekers, issuing a direct warning about the social and spiritual damage caused by careless speech.
The words — נִרְגָּן (Nir.gon) denotes a slanderer or gossip, while חַדְרֵי־בָטֶן (chadrei-baten) literally means the chambers of the belly, indicating the deepest part of a person.
The thread — The prohibition against slander appears in Leviticus 19:16, the destructive power of the tongue is compared to a sword in Proverbs 12:18, and gossip’s capacity to fracture relationships is detailed in Proverbs 16:28.
Why it lands — It demands immediate restraint by exposing how persuasive but poisonous gossip penetrates a person’s core, requiring readers to guard their speech against self-destruction and relational harm.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Cross-references
- 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.
- 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 Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.
- Psalms 52:2 Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.
- Psalms 64:3 who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows,