Albert Barnes Commentary Proverbs 18:6-8

"A fool`s lips enter into contention, And his mouth calleth for stripes. A fool`s mouth is his destruction, And his lips are the snare of his soul. The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, And they go down into the innermost parts." — Proverbs 18:6-8 (ASV)

The first verse speaks of the immediate, the others of the remote, results of the “fool’s” temper. First, “contention,” then “strokes” or blows, then “destruction,” and last, “wounds.”

(Proverbs 18:8)

Wounds—The word rendered this way occurs here and in Proverbs 26:22 only. Others translate it as “dainties,” and interpret the verse as describing the avidity with which people swallow tales of scandal. They find their way to the innermost recesses of human nature.