Proverbs 26:20
18 Like a madman shooting firebrands and deadly arrows,
19 so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”
Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.
21 Like charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.
- KJV
- Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
- WEB
- For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.
- ASV
- For lack of wood the fire goeth out; And where there is no whisperer, contention ceaseth.
- DARBY
- Where no wood is, the fire goeth out; and where there is no talebearer, the contention ceaseth.
- BLB
- With the end of the wood, the fire [is] quenched, and without one whispering, strife quiets down.
- ÅB
- Når det er forbi med veden, slukner ilden, og når det ingen øretuter er, stilles trette.
- OTB
- Uten ved slukner en ild; uten en sladrehank stilner en krangel.
- B1930
- Når det er forbi med veden, slukner ilden, og når det ingen øretuter er, stilles trette.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Proverbs 16:28
A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends.
Read in contextProverbs 22:10
Drive out the mocker, and conflict will depart; even quarreling and insults will cease.
Read in contextJames 3:6
The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Read in contextProverbs 26:22
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.
Read in context