The Power of the Tongue
The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook. Proverbs 18:4 · Berean Standard Bible
What comes out of someone's mouth can be either very deep and hard to understand, or genuinely refreshing and full of insight.
The Hebrew word for 'deep waters' can mean both mysterious and potentially dangerous, while a bubbling brook is accessible and life-giving. This verse acknowledges that speech has real depth—it's not small or trivial.
The wisdom teachers celebrating the power of words.
Proverbs returns again and again to how words matter—they shape reality, they build or destroy relationships, they reveal what's in the heart. This prepares for Jesus's teaching that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
A person's words can be profound and mysterious, flowing like deep waters, or they can be a source of true wisdom that continuously refreshes like a flowing spring.
The verse employs water imagery—common throughout ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature—to capture two qualities of speech: depth and vitality. It acknowledges that speech itself carries power; words are not mere sounds but bearers of meaning and effect. The contrast between 'deep waters' (which can obscure or contain hidden knowledge) and 'bubbling brook' (which is transparent and life-giving) suggests that true wisdom is both substantial and accessible.
The wisdom tradition, using metaphorical language to elevate the significance of human discourse.
This connects to the biblical understanding of language as creative force (Genesis 1, where God speaks creation into being) and prefigures the Johannine Logos theology, where the Word becomes not merely utterance but divine reality. The productive speech of the wise participates in God's own creative capacity.
2A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in airing his opinions.
3With a wicked man comes contempt as well, and shame is accompanied by disgrace.
4The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
5Showing partiality to the wicked is not good, nor is depriving the innocent of justice.
6A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.
Read all of Proverbs 18 — Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Words build and words destroy — and you choose which every time you open your mouth.
This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.
Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.
Download on the App StoreFree on iPhone & iPad