Proverbs 18:4

The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook. THE WORDS OF A MAN'S MOUTH (ARE AS) DEEP WATERS - i:e., a wise man's words, as the parallel clause shows. The Hebrew is 'iysh (H376), a good man; not 'aadaam (H120), the general term for man. His words are deep: not merely on the surface for display, like the fool's (Proverbs 18:1). THE WELL-SPRING OF WISDOM - inexhaustible, ever-flowing, not soon run dry, like the fool's shallow knowledge. There is a depth in it not easily fathomed....

Verse Proverbs 18:4. _THE WORDS OF A MAN'S MOUTH_] That is, the wise sayings of a wise man are like _deep waters_; howsoever much you pump or draw off, you do not appear to lessen them. _THE WELL-SPRING OF WISDOM_] Where there is a _sound understanding_, and a deep, well-informed mind, its wisdom and its counsels are an incessant stream, מקור חכמה _mekor chochmah_, "the vein of wisdom," ever throwing out its healthy streams: but מקור חיים _mekor_ _chaiyim_, "the vein of LIVES," is the reading of _eight_ of _Kennicott's_ and _De Rossi's_ MSS., and is countenanced by the _Septuagint_, πηγη ζωης, "the fountain of life." And so the Arabic, [Arabic]. This is the more likely to be the _true reading_, because the _figure_ of the heart propelling the blood through the great aorta, to send it to all parts of th

The parallelism of the two clauses is probably one of contrast. If so, the proverb is a comparison between all teaching from without and that of the light within. “The words of a man’s mouth” are dark as the “deep waters” of a pool, or tank (“deep waters” being associated in the Old Testament with the thought of darkness and mystery; compare Proverbs 20:5; Psalms 69:2; Ecclesiastes 7:24); but “the wellspring of wisdom is as a flowing brook,” bright and clear. The verse presents a contrast like that of Jeremiah 2:13....

EXPOSITION PROVERBS 18:1 This is a difficult verse, and has obtained various interpretations. The Authorized Version gives, THROUGH DESIRE A MAN, HAVING SEPARATED HIMSELF, SEEKETH AND INTERMEDDLETH WITH ALL WISDOM; _i.e. _a man who has an earnest desire for self-improvement will hold himself aloof from worldly entanglements, and, occupying himself wholly in this pursuit, will become conversant with all wisdom. This gives good sense, and offers a contrast to the fool in Proverbs 18:2, who "hath no delight in understanding." But the Hebrew does not rightly bear this interpretation. Its conciseness occasions ambiguity. Literally, _For his desire a man who separates himself seeks_;_ in _(or _against_) all wisdom he mingles

THE WORDS OF A MAN'S MOUTH [ARE AS] DEEP WATERS,.... The words of a great and mighty man; of an excellent and valuable man, as Jarchi; or of a wise man, as Aben Ezra. The doctrines which such a man has imbibed, and his heart is full of and his mouth utters, are like to "waters", pure, purifying, and refreshing; to "deep waters", which make no noise, and cannot be easily fathomed: such are the deep mysteries of grace, the wisdom of God in a mystery, spoken among them that are perfect; of which a good man makes no boast, but humbly declares; out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth speaks; [AND] THE WELLSPRING OF WISDOM [AS] A FLOWING BROOK; there is a spring of spiritual wisdom and knowledge in him; a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life; and from thence it flows freely and constantly; communicating itself liberally unto others, and ministering grace to the hearer...

CHAPTER 18 PROVERBS OF PERSONAL INSTRUCTION There is first a warning against separation produced by desire, that is for gratification and pleasure, and not for a righteous purpose. Such a one becomes an enemy of true wisdom and one who intermeddleth with all wisdom. This proverb finds a New Testament illustration in Alexander the coppersmith, as well as Hymenaeus and Philetus, and Diotrephes of whom John writes in his epistle. A fool foams out his own folly. This proverb in Proverbs 18:2 is illustrated by many of the critics of the Bible. They have no delight in true understanding but their own hearts are laid bare by their mad oppositions to God's Holy Word. The fool's mouth, his lips, the talebearer (whisperer), and the slothful are the themes of the proverbs in Proverbs 18:6. Then we read

PROVERBS 18:1. MT yields no satisfactory sense. The LXX reads The man who wishes to separate from his friends seeks pretexts, but is always liable to reproach. Frankenberg renders the alienated friend seeks an occasion (emending the word for - desire-'), seeks by all means to stir up strife. Proverbs 18:4. RV translates correctly, but the sense is strange. Read, perhaps, The words of the wise are deep waters, a flowing brook, a fountain of life, but this is conjecture rather than emendation. Proverbs 18:5. _cf._ Proverbs 17:26, which may have originally followed this verse....

WORDS. Hebrew. _dabar._ App-73. WISDOM. Hebrew. _chakmah._ See note on Proverbs 1:2. FLOWING BROOK. a gushing torrent. Hebrew. _nahal._...

_a man's mouth_ The second clause of the verse limits and interprets the first. It is of a _wise_man's mouth that the proverb speaks. His words are "as deep waters," because they are no mere shallow talk, but are full of depth and meaning, "The well-spring of wisdom," which is their source, does not soon run dry, but is "as a flowing brook," in its full, clear, steady course. Such were Solomon's own words to the queen of Sheba, 1 Kings 10:1; 1 Kings 10:3. Somewhat similarly the LXX. make the first clause refer to the still unuttered word in the heart, and the second to its leaping forth thence like the stream from the spring: "Deep water is a word in the heart of a man, But it leaps forth as a river and a fountain of life....

CHAPTER 18 TEXT Proverbs 18:1-12 1. He that separateth himself seeketh his own desire, And rageth against all sound wisdom. 2. A fool hath no delight in understanding, But only that his heart may reveal itself. 3. When the wicked cometh, there cometh also contempt, And with ignominy cometh reproach. 4. The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters; The wellspring of wisdom is as a flowing brook. 5. To respect the person of the wicked is not good, Not to turn aside the righteous in judgment. 6. A fool's lips enter into contention, And his lips are the snare of his soul. 7. A fool's mouth is his destruction, And his lips are the snare of his soul. 8. The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts.