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Proverbs 26:21-23
Contemporary English Version
Proverbs 26:21-23
Contemporary English Version
21 Troublemakers start trouble,
just as sparks and fuel
start a fire.
22 There is nothing so delicious
as the taste of gossip!
It melts in your mouth.
23 Hiding hateful thoughts
behind smooth[a] talk
is like coating a clay pot
with a cheap glaze.
Footnotes
- 26.23 smooth: One ancient translation; Hebrew “hateful.”
Proverbs 26:21-23
New International Version
Proverbs 26:21-23
New International Version
21 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.(A)
22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;
they go down to the inmost parts.(B)
23 Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware
are fervent[a] lips with an evil heart.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 26:23 Hebrew; Septuagint smooth
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.