Proverbs 26:20-22

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

and where there is no gossip, ¹  contention ceases. ² 

26:21 Like charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire,

so is a contentious person ³  to kindle strife. ⁴ 

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

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

Proverbs 26:28

26:28 A lying tongue ⁶  hates those crushed by it,

and a flattering mouth works ruin. ⁷ 

[26:20]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “becomes silent.”

[26:21]  ³ sn Heb “a man of contentions”; NCV, NRSV, NLT “a quarrelsome person.” The expression focuses on the person who is contentious by nature. His quarreling is like piling fuel on a fire that would otherwise go out. This kind of person not only starts strife, but keeps it going.

[26:21]  ⁴ tn The Pilpel infinitive construct לְחַרְחַר (lÿkharkhar) from חָרַר (kharar, “to be hot; to be scorched; to burn”) means “to kindle; to cause to flare up.”

[26:22]  ⁵ tn The proverb is essentially the same as 18:8; it observes how appealing gossip is.

[26:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “the tongue of deception.” The subject matter of this proverb is deceptive speech. The “tongue of deception” (using a metonymy of cause with an attributive genitive) means that what is said is false. Likewise the “smooth mouth” means that what is said is smooth, flattering.

[26:28]  ⁷ sn The verse makes it clear that only pain and ruin can come from deception. The statement that the lying tongue “hates those crushed by it” suggests that the sentiments of hatred help the deceiver justify what he says about people. The ruin that he brings is probably on other people, but it could also be taken to include his own ruin.