Proverbs 18:7

7 The mouths of fools are their undoing, and their lips are a snare to their very lives.

Proverbs 18:7 in Other Translations

KJV
7 A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.
ESV
7 A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
NLT
7 The mouths of fools are their ruin; they trap themselves with their lips.
MSG
7 Fools are undone by their big mouths; their souls are crushed by their words.
CSB
7 A fool's mouth is his devastation, and his lips are a trap for his life.

Proverbs 18:7 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 18:7

A fool's mouth [is] his destruction
The cause of it; for his contentions, and quarrels, and evil speaking, lawsuits are commenced against him, which bring ruin upon himself and his family now; as well as for his idle and wicked words he will be condemned hereafter, ( Matthew 12:35 ) ; there is a world of iniquity in the mouth and tongue of a wicked man, which bring destruction upon himself and others, ( James 3:6 James 3:8 ) ; and his lips [are] the snare of his soul;
from speaking in his own defence, he says things which should not be said, and by which he is entangled yet more and more; he is caught by his own words and condemned by them; or his loquacity, in which he delights, is a snare unto him to say things which neither become him, nor are for his advantage, but the contrary; see ( Proverbs 12:13 ) .

Proverbs 18:7 In-Context

5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked and so deprive the innocent of justice.
6 The lips of fools bring them strife, and their mouths invite a beating.
7 The mouths of fools are their undoing, and their lips are a snare to their very lives.
8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.
9 One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Psalms 140:9
  • 2. S Psalms 64:8; S Proverbs 10:14; S Proverbs 12:13; S Proverbs 13:3; Ecclesiastes 10:12
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