18:8 The words of a gossip 1 are like choice morsels; 2
they go down into the person’s innermost being. 3
1 tn Or “slanderer”; KJV, NAB “talebearer”; ASV, NRSV “whisperer.”
2 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.
3 tn Heb “they go down [into] the innermost parts of the belly”; NASB “of the body.”