Proverbs 10:8

10:8 The wise person ¹  accepts instructions, ² 

but the one who speaks foolishness ³  will come to ruin. ⁴ 

Proverbs 10:10

10:10 The one who winks ⁵  his ⁶  eye causes ⁷  trouble,

and the one who speaks foolishness ⁸  will come to ruin.

Proverbs 13:3

13:3 The one who guards his words ⁹  guards his life,

but ¹⁰  whoever is talkative ¹¹  will come to ruin. ¹² 

Proverbs 18:7

18:7 The mouth of a fool is his ruin,

and his lips are a snare for his life. ¹³ 

Proverbs 21:23

21:23 The one who guards his mouth and his tongue ¹⁴ 

keeps his life ¹⁵  from troubles. ¹⁶ 

[10:8]  ¹ tn Heb “the wise of heart” (so NASB, NRSV). The genitive noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as an attributive adjective: “the wise heart.” The term לֵב functions as a synecdoche of part (= heart) for the whole person (= person). The heart is emphasized because it is the seat of wisdom (BDB 524 s.v. 3.b).

[10:8]  ² tn Heb “commandments.”

[10:8]  ³ tn Heb “fool of lips.” The phrase is a genitive of specification: “a fool in respect to lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause (= lips) for effect (= speech). This person talks foolishness; he is too busy talking to pay attention to instruction.

[10:8]  ⁴ tn The Niphal verb לָבַט (lavat) means “to be thrust down [or, away]”; that is, “to be ruined; to fall” or “to stumble” (e.g., Hos 4:14). The fool who refuses to listen to advice – but abides by his own standards which he freely expresses – will suffer the predicaments that he creates.

[10:10]  ⁵ tn The term (קָרַץ, qarats) describes a person who habitually “winks” his eye maliciously as a secretive sign to those conspiring evil (Prov 6:13). This is a comparison rather than a contrast. Devious gestures are grievous, but not as ruinous as foolish talk. Both are to be avoided.

[10:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “the eye.”

[10:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “gives.”

[10:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “the fool of lips”; cf. NASB “a babbling fool.” The phrase is a genitive of specification: “a fool in respect to lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause (= lips) for effect (= speech). The word for fool (אֶוִיל, ’evil) refers to someone who despises knowledge and discernment.

[13:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “mouth” (so KJV, NAB). The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech.

[13:3]  ¹⁰ tn The term “but” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[13:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “opens wide his lips.” This is an idiom meaning “to be talkative” (BDB 832 s.v. פָּשַׂק Qal). Cf. NIV “speaks rashly”; TEV “a careless talker”; CEV “talk too much.”

[13:3]  ¹² sn Tight control over what one says prevents trouble (e.g., Prov 10:10; 17:28; Jas 3:1-12; Sir 28:25). Amenemope advises to “sleep a night before speaking” (5:15; ANET 422, n. 10). The old Arab proverb is appropriate: “Take heed that your tongue does not cut your throat” (O. Zockler, Proverbs, 134).

[18:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “his soul” (so KJV, NASB, NIV).

[21:23]  ¹⁴ sn “Mouth” and “tongue” are metonymies of cause, signifying what one says (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV).

[21:23]  ¹⁵ tn This part could also be translated “keeps himself” (so NIV), for נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) often simply means “the whole person.” The participle שֹׁמֵר (shomer) is repeated from the first line in the parallelism – to guard what is said is to guard against difficulty.

[21:23]  ¹⁶ sn The “troubles” (צָרוֹת, tsarot) here could refer to social and legal difficulties into which careless talk might bring someone (e.g., 13:3; 18:21). The word means “a strait, a bind, difficulty.” Careless and free talking could get the person into a tight spot.