Proverbs 18:4

NETBible

The words of a person’s mouth are like 1  deep waters, 2  and 3  the fountain of wisdom 4  is like 5  a flowing brook. 6 

NIV ©

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

NASB ©

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

NLT ©

A person’s words can be life–giving water; words of true wisdom are as refreshing as a bubbling brook.

MSG ©

Many words rush along like rivers in flood, but deep wisdom flows up from artesian springs.

BBE ©

The words of a man’s mouth are like deep waters: the fountain of wisdom is like a flowing stream.

NRSV ©

The words of the mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a gushing stream.

NKJV ©

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook.

KJV
The words
<01697>
of a man's
<0376>
mouth
<06310>
[are as] deep
<06013>
waters
<04325>_,
[and] the wellspring
<04726>
of wisdom
<02451>
[as] a flowing
<05042> (8802)
brook
<05158>_.
NASB ©
The words
<1697>
of a man's
<376>
mouth
<6310>
are deep
<6013>
waters
<4325>
; The fountain
<4726>
of wisdom
<2451>
is a bubbling
<5042>
brook
<5158>
.
LXXM
udwr
<5204> 
N-NSN
bayu
<901> 
A-NSN
logov
<3056> 
N-NSM
en
<1722> 
PREP
kardia
<2588> 
N-DSF
androv
<435> 
N-GSM
potamov
<4215> 
N-NSM
de
<1161> 
PRT
anaphduei {V-PAI-3S} kai
<2532> 
CONJ
phgh
<4077> 
N-NSF
zwhv
<2222> 
N-GSF
NET [draft] ITL
The words
<01697>
of a person’s
<0376>
mouth
<06310>
are like deep
<06013>
waters
<04325>
, and the fountain
<04726>
of wisdom
<02451>
is like a flowing
<05042>
brook
<05158>
.
HEBREW
hmkx
<02451>
rwqm
<04726>
ebn
<05042>
lxn
<05158>
sya
<0376>
yp
<06310>
yrbd
<01697>
Myqme
<06013>
Mym (18:4)
<04325>
NETBible

The words of a person’s mouth are like 1  deep waters, 2  and 3  the fountain of wisdom 4  is like 5  a flowing brook. 6 

NET Notes

1 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

2 sn The metaphor “deep waters” indicates either that the words have an inexhaustible supply or that they are profound.

3 tn There is debate about the nature of the parallelism between lines 4a and 4b. The major options are: (1) synonymous parallelism, (2) antithetical parallelism (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV) or (3) formal parallelism. Normally a vav (ו) would begin an antithetical clause; the structure and the ideas suggest that the second colon continues the idea of the first half, but in a parallel way rather than as additional predicates. The metaphors used in the proverb elsewhere describe the wise.

4 sn This is an implied comparison (hypocatastasis), the fountain of wisdom being the person who speaks. The Greek version has “fountain of life” instead of “wisdom,” probably influenced from 10:11.

5 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

6 sn The point of this metaphor is that the wisdom is a continuous source of refreshing and beneficial ideas.