Passage
The lips of a fool intermeddle with strife: and his mouth provoketh quarrels.
Proverbs 18:6 (DRB)
Nearby Context
Proverbs 18:4 Words from the mouth of a man are as deep water: and the fountain of wisdom is an overflowing stream.
Proverbs 18:5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to decline from the truth of judgment.
Proverbs 18:6 The lips of a fool intermeddle with strife: and his mouth provoketh quarrels.
Proverbs 18:7 The mouth of a fool is his destruction: and his lips are the ruin of his soul.
Proverbs 18:8 The words of the double tongued are as if they were harmless: and they reach even to the inner parts of the bowels. Fear casteth down the slothful: and the souls of the effeminate shall be hungry.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "lips", "fool", "intermeddle", "strife", "mouth", "provoketh", and "quarrels". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lips" and "fool", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 5's "It is not good to accept the..." into verse 7's "The mouth of a fool is his...", so "lips" and "fool" 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 "lips" and "fool" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.