PROV 18:21 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Θάνατος καὶ ζωὴ ἐν χειρὶ γλώσσης, οἱ δὲ κρατοῦντες αὐτῆς ἔδονται τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτῆς.
(Thanatos kai zōaʸ en ⱪeiri glōssaʸs, hoi de kratountes autaʸs edontai tous karpous autaʸs. )

BrTr Life and death are in the power of the tongue; and they that rule it shall eat the fruits thereof.

ULT Death and life are in the hand of the tongue,
⇔ and those who love it will eat its fruit.

UST What people say can cause people to die or to remain alive.
⇔ So people who are skillful at talking will strongly influence what happens to themselves and to others.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE Death and life are in the power of the tongue;
⇔ those who love it will eat its fruit.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
⇔ and those who love its use will eat its fruit.

LSV Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue,
And those loving it eat its fruit.

FBV What you say has the power to bring life or to kill; those who love talking will have to deal with the consequences.

T4T ⇔ What you say can cause others to be killed or it can cause them to continue to live;
⇔ so those who like to talk a lot must ◄accept the consequences/realize that what they say can cause much harm►.

LEB • Death and life are in the power[fn] of the tongue, and those who love her[fn] will eat of her fruit.

18:? Literally “hand”

18:? That is, the power of the tongue

BBE Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and those to whom it is dear will have its fruit for their food.

Moff Death and life are determined by the tongue:
⇔ the talkative must take the consequences.

JPS Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that indulge it shall eat the fruit thereof.

ASV Death and life are in the power of the tongue;
⇔ And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

DRA Death and life are in the power of the tongue: they that love it, shall eat the fruits thereof.

YLT Death and life [are] in the power of the tongue, And those loving it eat its fruit.

Drby Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

RV Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

SLT Death and life in the hand of the tongue: and they loving it shall eat its fruit.

Wbstr Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit of it.

KJB-1769 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

KJB-1611 Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that loue it shall eate the fruite thereof.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Death and life are in the instrument of the tongue, and they that loue it, shall eate the fruite thereof.
(Death and life are in the instrument of the tongue, and they that love it, shall eat the fruit thereof.)

Gnva Death and life are in the power of ye tongue, and they that loue it, shall eate the fruite thereof.
(Death and life are in the power of ye/you_all tongue, and they that love it, shall eat the fruit thereof. )

Cvdl Death and life stonde in the power of the tonge, he that loueth it, shal enioye the frute therof.
(Death and life stand in the power of the tongue, he that loveth/loves it, shall enjoy the fruit thereof.)

Wycl Deth and lijf ben in the werkis of tunge; thei that louen it, schulen ete the fruytis therof.
(Deth and life been in the works of tongue; they that love it, should eat the fruits thereof.)

Luth Tod und Leben steht in der Zunge Gewalt; wer sie liebet, der wird von ihrer Frucht essen.
(Tod and life stands in the/of_the tongue violence; who they/she/them love(s), the/of_the becomes from of_their/her fruit eat.)

ClVg Mors et vita in manu linguæ; qui diligunt eam comedent fructus ejus.
(Mors and life in/into/on by_hand tongues/languages; who/which they_love her they_will_eat fruit his. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

This section is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs. It has a very different structure from the longer poetic lectures of chapters 1–9. It consists mostly of individual couplets (two-line poems) that are each one verse in length. With the exception of the title (10:1a), paragraph breaks will not be indicated in the Notes or Display. You may of course choose to start each proverb as a separate paragraph in your translation.

In chapters 10–15, most of these one-verse couplets express a contrast between the two lines. One of the more common contrasts is between the righteous/wise and the wicked/foolish and the different consequences of their conduct.

In chapters 16:1–22:16, more topics are discussed. There is more emphasis on the role of the king and other leaders. In these chapters, there are few proverbs with contrasting lines. Some of the parallel lines are similar in meaning. More frequently, the second line adds to what the first line says or gives an example. Most of the verses have no obvious connection with the previous or following proverbs.UBS (page 214), Fox (page 509), McKane (page 413). Many scholars, including McKane, point out that there are some topical groupings as well as poetic connections. These include the repetition of certain words or sounds. This observation does not deny the individual nature of most of the proverbs in this Section.

Two of the types of proverbs in this section are not found in chapters 1–9. One type contains logical reasoning from the lesser to the greater. See 11:31 for a list of these proverbs. There are also several varieties of complex “better than” proverbs. The most common have a contrasting situation in each line (see 12:9). For other varieties, see 16:16, 19:1, and 21:9.

Many of the proverbs in this section refer to categories of people who share a common trait. For example, they refer to the righteous, the wise, the poor, and the lazy. In Hebrew, some verses use singular forms to refer to these groups of people. Other verses use plural forms. Still others use a combination of singular and plural. See the note on 10:30a–b for one example. For most of these verses, the Notes will not comment on the difference between singular and plural forms. Use a natural way in your language to refer to one or more people who are in the same category.

Many of the proverbs in this section express a general principle in abstract terms. They are not addressed specifically to the readers. For example, 10:2a–b says:

Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,

but righteousness delivers from death.

However, the author intended his readers to understand these proverbs as advice that they should follow. In some languages, authors or speakers give advice more directly, using pronouns such as you^(sing), you^(plur), we^(dual), or we^(incl). See the note on 10:2 for translation suggestions.

Some other headings for this section are:

Proverbs of Solomon (NIV)

The Wise Words of Solomon (NCV)

Here are many wise things that Solomon said

18:21

This verse is closely related to 18:20. The first line describes the power of a person’s words to accomplish great good or evil. The second line reminds people who love to talk that they will have to face the consequences.

^21aLife and death are in the power of the tongue,

^21band those who love it will eat its fruit.

The verse as a whole is an implied warning that people who talk a lot should be careful what they say.

18:21a

Life and death are in the power of the tongue,

What you^(sing) say can cause a person to live or die.
A person’s words can have great power. They can even preserve another person’s life or condemn him to death.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “Death and life are in the hand of the tongue.” The word “hand” is used figuratively here to mean power. It refers to the power or authority of a person’s words to bring about certain consequences. If your language has a different figure of speech with the same meaning, consider using it here.

Life and death: In Hebrew, this word pair occurs in the opposite order (“death and life”). The BSB has changed it to Life and death, because this order is more common in English.

This word pair is used here as a figure of speech.This figure of speech is a merism. See Hubbard (page 276), Waltke (page 86). In this figure of speech, the two extremes “life and death” include other good and bad consequences between these two extremes. What a person says can significantly help or harm another person. It can even result in someone’s life being preserved or lost.

the tongue: The word tongue here has the same meaning as the words “mouth” and “lips” in 18:20. It is a figure of speech that refers to the words that a person speaks.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

Words can bring death or life! (CEV)

What you say can mean life or death. (NCV)

18:21b

and those who love it will eat its fruit.

If you^(sing) love to use your tongue, be careful, because you will experience the consequences of your words.
So if someone enjoys talking, he should remember that he will have to face the consequences of what he says.

and those who love it: The phrase those who love it refers here to those who love to use their tongues. In other words, they very much enjoy talking.

will eat its fruit: The phrase will eat its fruit is used here as a figure of speech. It means that those who enjoy talking will experience the consequences of their words, whether good or bad.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

those who love its use will eat its fruit (NET)

those who love to talk will reap the consequences (NLT)

You will have to live with the consequences of everything you say. (GNT)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

מָ֣וֶת וְ֭⁠חַיִּים בְּ⁠יַד־לָשׁ֑וֹן

death and,life [are]_in_[the],hand_of tongue

Here Solomon speaks of a person’s tongue as if it were a person who held Death and life in his hand. He means that what people say can cause people to die or stay alive. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “A person’s death and life can be determined by what a person says”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

מָ֣וֶת וְ֭⁠חַיִּים

death and,life

See how you translated the abstract nouns Death in [2:18](../02/18.md) and life in [8:36](../08/36.md).

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

לָשׁ֑וֹן

tongue

See how you translated the same use of tongue in [6:17](../06/17.md).

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

יֹאכַ֥ל פִּרְיָֽ⁠הּ

eat fruit_of,its

Here Solomon speaks of people receiving the consequences for what they say as if those consequences were fruit that they will eat. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “will receive its consequences”

Parallel PROV 18:21

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

18:21

18:21a

18:21b