Proverbs 18
The full text of Proverbs 18 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 Whoever isolates himself pursues his own desire;
he quarrels against all sound judgment.
2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.
3 When wickedness comes, contempt comes also,
and with dishonor comes disgrace.
4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked
or to deprive the righteous of justice.
6 A fool's lips walk into a fight,
and his mouth invites a beating.
7 A fool's mouth is his ruin,
and his lips are a snare to his soul.
8 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.
9 Whoever is slack in his work
is a brother to him who destroys.
10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
11 A rich man's wealth is his strong city,
and like a high wall in his imagination.
12 Before destruction a man's heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honor.
13 If one gives an answer before he hears,
it is his folly and shame.
14 A man's spirit will endure sickness,
but a crushed spirit — who can bear it?
15 An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16 A man's gift makes room for him
and brings him before the great.
17 The one who pleads his case first seems right,
until his neighbor comes and examines him.
18 The lot puts an end to quarrels
and decides between powerful contenders.
19 A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city,
and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.
20 From the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach is satisfied;
he is satisfied by the yield of his lips.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing
and obtains favor from the LORD.
23 The poor uses entreaties,
but the rich answers roughly.
24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Translation notes (6)
- Proverbs 18:1a The Hebrew of this proverb is terse and much disputed. The verb yitgalla, 'breaks out', denotes quarreling in Proverbs 17:14 and 20:3, supporting the negative sense adopted here. The Septuagint reads prophaseis, 'pretexts', apparently reflecting Hebrew to'anah rather than ta'avah, 'desire', which yields the sense of a man seeking occasions for strife.
- Proverbs 18:4a Interpreters divide over whether the two lines are synonymous or contrastive. Read as synonymous, mayim amuqim, 'deep waters', praises words as an inexhaustible resource; read as contrastive, human speech is murky and unfathomable while wisdom alone is a nachal novea, 'bubbling brook', fresh and accessible. The Hebrew parallelism permits either construal, and the translation preserves the ambiguity.
- Proverbs 18:8a The rare word mitlahamim, 'delicious morsels', appears only here and in the identical Proverbs 26:22; it likely derives from a root meaning 'to swallow greedily', picturing gossip as food eagerly gulped down. The King James tradition rendered it 'wounds' from a different derivation. The phrase chadrei-vaten, literally 'chambers of the belly', denotes the innermost self, where slander lodges and lingers.
- Proverbs 18:18a The goral, 'lot', was a small stone or marked object cast to settle disputed matters, a practice Israel understood as yielding a divine verdict rather than mere chance (compare Proverbs 16:33). The proverb commends it because it removes the decision from human partisanship, ending disputes even between atsumim, 'powerful ones', whom no arbiter could easily overrule.
- Proverbs 18:19a The Hebrew is difficult: nifsha', 'offended', is a passive form of pasha', 'to rebel', occurring only here, and the comparison supplies no adjective, literally 'a brother offended is more than a strong city'. The Septuagint reads instead 'a brother helped by a brother is like a strong city', likely a guess at the obscure text. The rendering above understands the comparison as resistance to reconciliation.
- Proverbs 18:24a The Masoretic Text opens with 'ish (אִישׁ), 'a man', which many read as yesh, 'there is', matching the second line. The verb lehitro'ea' is also ambiguous: derived from ra'a', 'to shatter', it yields 'come to ruin', while the King James tradition took it from a root meaning 'to associate', rendering 'must shew himself friendly'. This translation follows the sense of ruin, which fits the contrast with the loyal friend.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Hebrew and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of Proverbs, is free to read here on the web.
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