Proverbs 16:28

16:28 A perverse person ¹  spreads dissension,

and a gossip separates the closest friends. ² 

Proverbs 18:8

18:8 The words of a gossip ³  are like choice morsels; ⁴ 

they go down into the person’s innermost being. ⁵ 

Proverbs 26:20

26:20 Where there is no wood, a fire goes out,

and where there is no gossip, ⁶  contention ceases. ⁷ 

Proverbs 26:22

26:22 The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels;

they go down into a person’s innermost being. ⁸ 

[16:28]  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).

[16:28]  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 a.d. 1040-1105, took it in the later sense of “prince,” saying that such speech alienates the Prince, namely God. But that is a forced interpretation of the line.

[18:8]  ³ tn Or “slanderer”; KJV, NAB “talebearer”; ASV, NRSV “whisperer.”

[18:8]  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.

[18:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “they go down [into] the innermost parts of the belly”; NASB “of the body.”

[26:20]  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).

[26:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “becomes silent.”

[26:22]  ⁷ tn The proverb is essentially the same as 18:8; it observes how appealing gossip is.