Proverbs 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 

[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.”