Proverbs 18:8

18:8 The words of a gossip ¹  are like choice morsels; ² 

they go down into the person’s innermost being. ³ 

Proverbs 18:14

18:14 A person’s spirit ⁴  sustains him through sickness –

but who can bear ⁵  a crushed spirit? ⁶ 

Proverbs 26:22

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

they go down into a person’s innermost being. ⁷ 

Psalms 52:2-4

52:2 Your tongue carries out your destructive plans; ⁸ 

it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver. ⁹ 

52:3 You love evil more than good,

lies more than speaking the truth. ¹⁰  (Selah)

52:4 You love to use all the words that destroy, ¹¹ 

and the tongue that deceives.

Psalms 109:22

109:22 For I am oppressed and needy,

and my heart beats violently within me. ¹² 

[18:8]  ¹ tn Or “slanderer”; KJV, NAB “talebearer”; ASV, NRSV “whisperer.”

[18:8]  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.

[18:8]  ³ tn Heb “they go down [into] the innermost parts of the belly”; NASB “of the body.”

[18:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “the spirit of a man.” Because the verb of this clause is a masculine form, some have translated this line as “with spirit a man sustains,” but that is an unnecessary change.

[18:14]  ⁵ sn This is a rhetorical question, asserting that very few can cope with depression.

[18:14]  ⁶ sn The figure of a “crushed spirit” (ASV, NAB, NCV, NRSV “a broken spirit,” comparing depression to something smashed or crushed) suggests a broken will, a loss of vitality, despair, and emotional pain. In physical sickness one can fall back on the will to live; but in depression even the will to live is gone.

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

[52:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “destruction your tongue devises.”

[52:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “like a sharpened razor, doer of deceit.” The masculine participle עָשָׂה (’asah) is understood as a substantival vocative, addressed to the powerful man.

[52:3]  ¹⁰ tn Or “deceit more than speaking what is right.”

[52:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you love all the words of swallowing.” Traditionally בַּלַּע (bala’) has been taken to mean “swallowing” in the sense of “devouring” or “destructive” (see BDB 118 s.v. בָּלַע). HALOT 135 s.v. III *בֶּלַע proposes a homonym here, meaning “confusion.” This would fit the immediate context nicely and provide a close parallel to the following line, which refers to deceptive words.

[109:22]  ¹² tc The verb in the Hebrew text (חָלַל, khalal) appears to be a Qal form from the root חלל meaning “pierced; wounded.” However, the Qal of this root is otherwise unattested. The translation assumes an emendation to יָחִיל (yakhil), a Qal imperfect from חוּל (khul, “tremble”) or to חֹלַל (kholal), a polal perfect from חוּל (khul). See Ps 55:4, which reads לִבִּי יָחִיל בְּקִרְבִּי (libbiy yakhil bÿqirbbiy, “my heart trembles [i.e., “beats violently”] within me”).