Proverbs 18:4–8
4 The words of a man’s mouth are adeep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
5 It is not good to bbe partial to1 the wicked
or to cdeprive the righteous of justice.
6 A fool’s lips walk into a fight,
and his mouth invites da beating.
7 eA fool’s mouth is his ruin,
and his lips are a snare to his soul.
8 fThe words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into gthe inner parts of the body.
Proverbs 18:4–8 — The New International Version (NIV)
4 The words of the mouth are deep waters,
but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.
5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked
and so deprive the innocent of justice.
6 The lips of fools bring them strife,
and their mouths invite a beating.
7 The mouths of fools are their undoing,
and their lips are a snare to their very lives.
8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to the inmost parts.
Proverbs 18:4–8 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
4 The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters,
And the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.
5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked,
To overthrow the righteous in judgment.
6 A fool’s lips enter into contention,
And his mouth calleth for strokes.
7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction,
And his lips are the snare of his soul.
8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds,
And they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Proverbs 18:4–8 — New Living Translation (NLT)
4 Wise words are like deep waters;
wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook.
5 It is not right to acquit the guilty
or deny justice to the innocent.
6 Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels;
they are asking for a beating.
7 The mouths of fools are their ruin;
they trap themselves with their lips.
8 Rumors are dainty morsels
that sink deep into one’s heart.
Proverbs 18:4–8 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;
The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.
5 It is not good to show partiality to the wicked,
Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
6 A fool’s lips enter into contention,
And his mouth calls for blows.
7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction,
And his lips are the snare of his soul.
8 The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,
And they go down into the inmost body.
Proverbs 18:4–8 — New Century Version (NCV)
4 Spoken words can be like deep water,
but wisdom is like a flowing stream.
5 It is not good to honor the wicked
or to be unfair to the innocent.
6 The words of fools start quarrels.
They make people want to beat them.
7 The words of fools will ruin them;
their own words will trap them.
8 The words of a gossip are like tasty bits of food.
People like to gobble them up.
Proverbs 18:4–8 — American Standard Version (ASV)
4 The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters;
The wellspring of wisdom is as a flowing brook.
5 To respect the person of the wicked is not good,
Nor to turn aside the righteous in judgment.
6 A fool’s lips enter into contention,
And his mouth calleth for stripes.
7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction,
And his lips are the snare of his soul.
8 The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels,
And they go down into the innermost parts.
Proverbs 18:4–8 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters, and the fountain of wisdom is a gushing brook.
5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to wrong the righteous in judgment.
6 A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for stripes. 7 A fool’s mouth is destruction to him, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
8 The words of a talebearer are as dainty morsels, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Proverbs 18:4–8 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
4 The words of a person’s mouth are like deep waters.
The fountain of wisdom is an overflowing stream.
5 It is not good to be partial toward a wicked person,
thereby depriving an innocent person of justice.
6 By talking, a fool gets into an argument,
and his mouth invites a beating.
7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin.
His lips are a trap to his soul.
8 The words of a gossip are swallowed greedily,
and they go down into a person’s innermost being.
Proverbs 18:4–8 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters,
a flowing river, a fountain of wisdom.
5 It is not good to show partiality to the guilty
by perverting the justice due the innocent.
6 A fool’s lips lead to strife,
and his mouth provokes a beating.
7 A fool’s mouth is his devastation,
and his lips are a trap for his life.
8 A gossip’s words are like choice food
that goes down to one’s innermost being.
Proverbs 18:4–8 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
4 The words of the mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a gushing stream.
5 It is not right to be partial to the guilty,
or to subvert the innocent in judgment.
6 A fool’s lips bring strife,
and a fool’s mouth invites a flogging.
7 The mouths of fools are their ruin,
and their lips a snare to themselves.
8 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.
Proverbs 18:4–8 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
4 Deep waters are words of the mouth of a man;
a gushing stream is a fountain of wisdom.
5 Being partial to faces of evil is not good,
nor to subvert the righteous at the judgment.
6 The lips of a fool will bring strife,
and his mouth calls out for a flogging.
7 The mouth of a fool is ruin to him,
and his lips are a snare to his soul.
8 The words of a whisper are like delicious morsels,
and they themselves go down to inner parts of the body.
Proverbs 18:4–8 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
4 The words of a person’s mouth are like deep water.
But the fountain of wisdom is like a flowing stream.
5 It isn’t good to favor those who do wrong.
And it isn’t good to hold back what is fair from those who aren’t guilty.
6 What a foolish person says leads to arguing.
He is just asking for a beating.
7 The words of a foolish person drag him down.
He is trapped by what he says.
8 The words of anyone who talks about others are like tasty bites of food.
They go deep down inside you.
Proverbs 18:4–8 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;
The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
5 To show partiality to the wicked is not good,
Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment.
6 A fool’s lips bring strife,
And his mouth calls for blows.
7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin,
And his lips are the snare of his soul.
8 The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,
And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.