Proverbs 18:21 (LSB)

Passage

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 18:19 A brother offended is harder to win over than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a citadel.

Proverbs 18:20 From the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach will be satisfied; With the produce of his lips he will be satisfied.

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 18:22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from Yahweh.

Proverbs 18:23 The poor man speaks supplications, But the rich man answers with strong words.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "death", "life", "power", "tongue", "love", and "fruit". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "death" and "life", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "From the fruit of a man s..." into verse 22's "He who finds a wife finds a...", so "death" and "life" 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 "death" and "life" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.