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The main thing: When we follow God, doing what He wants us to do, our words are His words. God’s words give life. Being plugged into God gives us wisdom. Not so much with the wicked. It is easy to see where abuse comes from. Not from God and not from the wise.

God’s goal for us is to use his words to give life. May we listen to God, speak His words, and give life.

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

English Standard Version. (2016). (Proverbs 10:11). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

The contrast between the righteous and wicked resumes with this verse. “Violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked” may speak of the violence that comes from a wicked mouth, the way that “guilt was all over his face” points to the irony of deception that reveals more than it hides.

If so, then its second appearance here, set in contrast with the mouth from which life springs like a fountain, adds nuance and color.

  • The righteous are associated with blessing and life, the wicked with violence that cuts life short. The repetition of lines suggests a mirror arrangement that matches the righteous/wicked sayings and the chattering fools.
  • The structure draws our attention to the importance of speech.
  • “Fountain of life” is introduced here for the first of four times in Proverbs (13:14; 14:27; 16:22); here it is used for righteous speech that refreshes and maintains life.
  • Words that lead to life is a precious gift.
  • May we give that gift to all we meet today.