"A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul."
Proverbs 18:6-7
“A fool’s lips enter into contention.”
A man’s heart is the source of his problems. This is especially true of a fool whose mouth always seems to get him into trouble. The fool who thinks he has more wisdom than all of us will spout his foolishness for all to hear.
“A fool finds himself in trouble because he speaks thoughtlessly … from a corrupt heart” [1] (BKC).
Since a fool has a heart full of foolishness, that’s what will come to the surface when he speaks. He will say anything to prove he’s right!
“It is in the nature of the fool to argue. Their words often bring them into contention” [2] (EWC).
But their contention will lead to their demise.
“Lips and mouth refer to what the fool … says, which causes trouble, escalating from strife and a beating to devastation (or terror) and ultimately to death” [3] (CSB).
“And his mouth calleth for strokes.”
Have you ever heard a parent say to the child they are correcting, “you are cruising for a bruising!”? They mean that if the current behavior persists, that child is heading into some physical discipline. That’s the way the fool operates. He talks and talks until the punishment comes!
“The contentious words of the fool invite punishment, and sometimes this punishment will be physical correction, the blows of the rod of correction” [4] (EWC).
“His words are so out of place that others whip him …” [5] (BKC).
“Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools” (Proverbs 19:29).
“A fool’s mouth is his destruction.”
The fool’s downfall comes from his mouth that he cannot keep shut.
“Many a fool has been ruined because of his foolish words” [6] (EWC).
“Bad dreams come from too many worries, and too many words come from the mouth of a fool” (Ecclesiastes 5:3).
“Words from the wise bring praise, but words from a fool bring destruction” (Ecclesiastes 10:12).
“And his lips are the snare of his soul.”
A snare is a trap that is easy to get into but hard to get out of. The fool’s lips are his “trap.” And he just needs to keep his “trap” shut! But he will not, he can’t!
“And his talk is his downfall; it ensnares him …” [7] (BKC).
“The sins of the wicked will trap them. Those sins will be like ropes holding them back” [8] (Proverbs 5:22, HSB).
“The quarrelsome bring trouble on themselves. Their rash language ensnares them….” [9] (JFB).
“Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth” (Proverbs 6:2).
Believers, we need to take care with our words. We certainly do not want to play the fool when it comes to how we speak to each other. Let’s be wise to talk in a way that brings honor and glory to Christ.
Quote: “It is most remarkable that the apostle Paul when analyzing man’s depravity, focuses on the little member and all that is linked to it—the throat, the tongue, the lips, and the mouth…” [10] (Bridges – EWC).
“Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues, they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness” (Romans 3:13-14).
[1] BKC, Sid S. Buzzell, “Proverbs,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 944. About the fool’s corrupt heart, see 18:2.
[2] EWC – David Guzik. Enduring Word Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.
[3] CSB, David K. Stabnow, “Proverbs,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 981.
[4] EWC, ibid.
[5] BKC, ibid.
[6] EWC, ibid.
[7] BKC, ibid.
[8] HSB is the Harvest Study Bible from Harvest Ministries in Guam.
[9] JFB, Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 1 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 397.
[10] EWC, ibid.