“Gossip injures those who are the subject of it and those who hear it.”
Proverbs 18:8
(8) The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Explanation
Spreading stories about someone can do a lot of damage. One way tale bearing hurts is by affecting the opinion of the one hearing the “tale” about the one being discussed. Those words “wound” him as it relates to his thinking.
“[Belly] is the inner part of the body with reference to the organs lying there, which mediate not only the life of the body, but also that of the mind – in general, the internal part of the personality.”
Keil & Delitzsch, Prov. 18:8, e-sword ver. 11.1.0
“The words of the tale-bearer wound him of whom they are spoken, his credit and interest, and him to whom they are spoken, his love and charity.”
Matthew Henry, Prov. 18:8, e-sword ver. 11.1.0
Do not participate in gossip: all it does is hurt.
Photo by Arisa Chattasa on Unsplash
Nathan M. McConnell 