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.

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.

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.

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.

[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)

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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.

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.

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