Amsal 18:8

18:8 The words of a gossip ¹  are like choice morsels; ² 

they go down into the person’s innermost being. ³ 

Amsal 26:22

26:22 The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels;

they go down into a person’s innermost being. ⁴ 

[18:8]  ¹ tn Or “slanderer”; KJV, NAB “talebearer”; ASV, NRSV “whisperer.”

[18:8]  ² tn The word כְּמִתְלַהֲמִים (kÿmitlahamim) occurs only here. It is related to a cognate verb meaning “to swallow greedily.” Earlier English versions took it from a Hebrew root הָלַם (halam, see the word לְמַהֲלֻמוֹת [lÿmahalumot] in v. 6) meaning “wounds” (so KJV). But the translation of “choice morsels” fits the idea of gossip better.

[18:8]  ³ tn Heb “they go down [into] the innermost parts of the belly”; NASB “of the body.”

[18:8]  sn When the choice morsels of gossip are received, they go down like delicious food – into the innermost being. R. N. Whybray says, “There is a flaw in human nature that assures slander will be listened to” (Proverbs [CBC], 105).

[26:22]  ⁴ tn The proverb is essentially the same as 18:8; it observes how appealing gossip is.