Proverbs 16:26
24 Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
A worker’s appetite works for him because his hunger drives him onward.
27 A worthless man digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.
28 A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- A worker’s appetite works for him because his hunger drives him onward.
- KJV
- He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.
- WEB
- The appetite of the laboring man labors for him, for his mouth urges him on.
- ASV
- The appetite of the laboring man laboreth for him; For his mouth urgeth him [thereto].
- DARBY
- The appetite of the labourer laboureth for him, for his mouth urgeth him on.
- BLB
- The soul of the laborer labors for himself, because his mouth presses him onward.
- ÅB
- Arbeiderens sult arbeider for ham; for hans munn driver ham fram.
- OTB
- En arbeiders appetitt arbeider for dem; deres sult driver dem frem.
- B1930
- Arbeiderens sult arbeider for ham; for hans munn driver ham frem.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Ecclesiastes 6:7
All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied.
Read in contextProverbs 14:23
There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Read in contextProverbs 9:12
If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage; but if you scoff, you alone will bear the consequences.
Read in context2 Thessalonians 3:8–12
nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
Read in context1 Thessalonians 4:11–12
and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.
Read in context