Proverbs 18:6 (LSB)

Passage

A fool’s lips come with strife, And his mouth calls for beatings.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; The fountain of wisdom is a flowing brook.

Proverbs 18:5 To show partiality to the wicked is not good, Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment.

Proverbs 18:6 A fool’s lips come with strife, And his mouth calls for beatings.

Proverbs 18:7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul.

Proverbs 18:8 The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts of the stomach.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "fool", "lips", "come", "strife", "mouth", "calls", and "beatings". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "fool" and "lips", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "To show partiality to the wicked is..." into verse 7's "A fool s mouth is his ruin...", so "fool" and "lips" 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 "fool" and "lips" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.