Passage

Proverbs 18.21

Book: Proverbs · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"19. A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city; And such contentions are like the bars of a castle. 20. A man's belly shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; With the increase of his lips shall he be satisfied."

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

"22. Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, And obtaineth favor of Jehovah. 23. The poor useth entreaties; But the rich answereth roughly." (Proverbs 18:19-23, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"19. A brother offended is more difficult than a fortified city; and disputes are like the bars of a fortress. 20. A man’s stomach is filled with the fruit of his mouth. With the harvest of his lips he is satisfied."

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

"22. Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor of Yahweh. 23. The poor plead for mercy, but the rich answer harshly." (Proverbs 18:19-23, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"19. A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. 20. A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled."

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

"22. Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD. 23. The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly." (Proverbs 18:19-23, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"19. A brother transgressed against is as a strong city, And contentions as the bar of a palace. 20. From the fruit of a man's mouth is his belly satisfied, [From the] increase of his lips he is satisfied."

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

"22. [Whoso] hath found a wife hath found good, And bringeth out good-will from Jehovah. 23. [With] supplications doth the poor speak, And the rich answereth fierce things." (Proverbs 18:19-23, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Solomon (principal); Agur; Lemuel; wise men
Audience: young Israelite men in the wisdom tradition
Location: Israel, Solomonic court
Time period: principal composition c. 970-930 BC (Solomon); compilation c. 700 BC (Hezekiah)

Theological reading

Key words

H2416 - chay, chay (Strong's H2416). Also appears in: Genesis 1.21, Genesis 1.24-28, Genesis 1.28.
H4194 - mavet, mavet (Strong's H4194). Also appears in: Leviticus 11.32, Deuteronomy 21, Deuteronomy 22.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.