Proverbs 18:4 (DBY)

Passage

The words of a man's mouth are deep waters, [and] the fountain of wisdom is a gushing brook.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 18:2 A fool hath no delight in understanding, but only that his heart may reveal itself.

Proverbs 18:3 When the wicked cometh, there cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach.

Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters, [and] the fountain of wisdom is a gushing brook.

Proverbs 18:5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to wrong the righteous in judgment.

Proverbs 18:6 A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for stripes.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "words", "man's", "mouth", "deep", "waters", "fountain", "wisdom", and "gushing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "words" and "man's", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "When the wicked cometh there cometh also..." into verse 5's "It is not good to accept the...", so "words" and "man's" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "words" and "man's" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.