Key Verse Spotlight
Proverbs 18:20 - Meaning and Application
Understand how this verse speaks to what you're facing and how to apply it today
Translation: World English Bible — Catholic Edition
" A man’s stomach is filled with the fruit of his mouth. With the harvest of his lips he is satisfied. "
Proverbs 18:20
Verse in Context
Understanding the surrounding verses prevents misinterpretation:
18 The lot settles disputes, and keeps strong ones apart.
19 A brother offended is more difficult than a fortified city. Disputes are like the bars of a fortress.
20 A man’s stomach is filled with the fruit of his mouth. With the harvest of his lips he is satisfied.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who love it will eat its fruit.
22 Whoever finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor of the LORD.
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Our comfort depends greatly on what our own consciences say about us, whether for us or against us. Here “the belly” means the conscience, as in Proverbs 20:27. It matters very much whether the conscience is satisfied, and what fills it, because that shapes our inward peace and contentment.
The testimony of our consciences will be for us or against us, depending on whether we have governed our tongues well. If the fruit of the mouth is good or bad, leading to righteousness or to sin, that shows the kind of person we are. It also shapes what our conscience says about us. We should care about our words as carefully as we care for the fruit of our trees or the crops of the field that we will eat, because wholesome words bring comfort, while harmful words bring pain.
From This Chapter
Proverbs 18:1
"A man who isolates himself pursues selfishness, and defies all sound judgment."
Proverbs 18:2
"A fool has no delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own opinion."
Proverbs 18:3
"When wickedness comes, contempt also comes, and with shame comes disgrace."
Proverbs 18:4
"The words of a man’s mouth are like deep waters. The fountain of wisdom is like a flowing brook."
Proverbs 18:5
"To be partial to the faces of the wicked is not good, nor to deprive the innocent of justice."
Proverbs 18:6
"A fool’s lips come into strife, and his mouth invites beatings."
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