16:28 A perverse person 1 spreads dissension,
and a gossip separates the closest friends. 2
18:8 The words of a gossip 3 are like choice morsels; 4
they go down into the person’s innermost being. 5
26:20 Where there is no wood, a fire goes out,
and where there is no gossip, 6 contention ceases. 7
26:22 The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels;
they go down into a person’s innermost being. 8
1 tn Heb “a man of perverse things”; NAB “an intriguer.” This refers to someone who destroys lives. The parallelism suggests that he is a “slanderer” or “gossip” – one who whispers and murmurs (18:8; 26:20, 22).
2 tn The term אַלּוּף (’aluf) refers to a “friend” or “an intimate associate.” The word has other possible translations, including “tame” or “docile” when used of animals. Rashi, a Jewish scholar who lived
3 tn Or “slanderer”; KJV, NAB “talebearer”; ASV, NRSV “whisperer.”
4 tn The word כְּמִתְלַהֲמִים (kÿmitlahamim) occurs only here. It is related to a cognate verb meaning “to swallow greedily.” Earlier English versions took it from a Hebrew root הָלַם (halam, see the word לְמַהֲלֻמוֹת [lÿmahalumot] in v. 6) meaning “wounds” (so KJV). But the translation of “choice morsels” fits the idea of gossip better.
5 tn Heb “they go down [into] the innermost parts of the belly”; NASB “of the body.”
5 sn Gossip (that is, the one who goes around whispering and slandering) fuels contention just as wood fuels a fire. The point of the proverb is to prevent contention – if one takes away the cause, contention will cease (e.g., 18:8).
6 tn Heb “becomes silent.”
7 tn The proverb is essentially the same as 18:8; it observes how appealing gossip is.