Proverbs 18:20-22
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
20 With the fruit of one’s mouth one’s belly is filled,
with the produce of one’s lips one is sated.[a](A)
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue;(B)
those who choose one shall eat its fruit.[b]
22 To find a wife is to find happiness,
a favor granted by the Lord.(C)
Footnotes
- 18:20 Fruit from the earth is our ordinary sustenance, but “the fruit of one’s lips,” i.e., our words, also affect our well-being. If our words and our deeds are right, then we are blessed, our “belly is filled.”
- 18:21 This enigmatic saying has provoked many interpretations, e.g., judicious speech brings a reward; those who love the tongue in the sense of rattling on must face the consequences of their loquacity. This translation interprets the verb “love” in colon B in its occasional sense of “choose” (e.g., 12:1; 20:13; Dt 4:37) and interprets its pronominal object as referring to both death and life in colon A. Death and life are set before every person (cf. Dt 30:15–20) and we have the power to choose either one by the quality of our deeds. Words (= “the tongue”) are regarded here as the defining actions of human beings.
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