Proverbs 18:1–8
An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends
and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.
2 Fools find no pleasure in understanding
but delight in airing their own opinions.x
3 When wickedness comes, so does contempt,
and with shame comes reproach.
4 The words of the mouth are deep waters,y
but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.
5 It is not good to be partial to the wickedz
and so deprive the innocent of justice.a
6 The lips of fools bring them strife,
and their mouths invite a beating.b
7 The mouths of fools are their undoing,
and their lips are a snarec to their very lives.d
8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to the inmost parts.e
Proverbs 18:1–8 — English Standard Version (ESV)
1 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;
he breaks out against all sound judgment.
2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.
3 When wickedness comes, contempt comes also,
and with dishonor comes disgrace.
4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked
or to deprive the righteous of justice.
6 A fool’s lips walk into a fight,
and his mouth invites a beating.
7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin,
and his lips are a snare to his soul.
8 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.
Proverbs 18:1–8 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh
And intermeddleth with all wisdom.
2 A fool hath no delight in understanding,
But that his heart may discover itself.
3 When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt,
And with ignominy reproach.
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 18:1–8 — New Living Translation (NLT)
1 Unfriendly people care only about themselves;
they lash out at common sense.
2 Fools have no interest in understanding;
they only want to air their own opinions.
3 Doing wrong leads to disgrace,
and scandalous behavior brings contempt.
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 18:1–8 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
1 A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire;
He rages against all wise judgment.
2 A fool has no delight in understanding,
But in expressing his own heart.
3 When the wicked comes, contempt comes also;
And with dishonor comes reproach.
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 18:1–8 — New Century Version (NCV)
1 Unfriendly people are selfish
and hate all good sense.
2 Fools do not want to understand anything.
They only want to tell others what they think.
3 Do something evil, and people won’t like you.
Do something shameful, and they will make fun of you.
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 18:1–8 — American Standard Version (ASV)
1 He that separateth himself seeketh his own desire,
And rageth against all sound wisdom.
2 A fool hath no delight in understanding,
But only that his heart may reveal itself.
3 When the wicked cometh, there cometh also contempt,
And with ignominy cometh reproach.
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 18:1–8 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
1 He that separateth himself seeketh his pleasure, he is vehement against all sound wisdom.
2 A fool hath no delight in understanding, but only that his heart may reveal itself.
3 When the wicked cometh, there cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach.
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 18:1–8 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
1 A loner is out to get what he wants for himself.
He opposes all sound reasoning.
2 A fool does not find joy in understanding
but only in expressing his own opinion.
3 When wickedness comes, contempt also comes,
and insult comes along with disgrace.
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 18:1–8 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
1 One who isolates himself pursues selfish desires;
he rebels against all sound judgment.
2 A fool does not delight in understanding,
but only wants to show off his opinions.
3 When a wicked man comes, contempt also does,
and along with dishonor, disgrace.
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 18:1–8 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
1 The one who lives alone is self-indulgent,
showing contempt for all who have sound judgment.
2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing personal opinion.
3 When wickedness comes, contempt comes also;
and with dishonor comes disgrace.
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 18:1–8 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
1 He who is selfish seeks a craving;
against all sound judgment he shows contempt.
2 A fool will not take pleasure in understanding,
but in expressing his heart.
3 With the coming of wickedness comes contempt also,
and with dishonor, disgrace.
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 18:1–8 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
1 A person who isn’t friendly looks out only for himself.
He opposes all good sense.
2 A foolish person doesn’t want to understand.
He takes delight in saying only what he thinks.
3 People hate it when evil comes.
And they refuse to honor those who bring shame.
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 18:1–8 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
1 He who separates himself seeks his own desire,
He quarrels against all sound wisdom.
2 A fool does not delight in understanding,
But only in revealing his own mind.
3 When a wicked man comes, contempt also comes,
And with dishonor comes scorn.
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.