Is there Power in our Speech? (Proverbs 18:22)

Proverbs 18:21 ESV Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Proverbs 18:21 is sometimes thought to mean that the things that we say have the power to cause life or death. Usually, only the first line is quoted: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” However, the second line is often missed out: “and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

What do the pronouns “it” and “its” in this verse refer to? Many people think that they refer to “life”. They understand the passage in this way: “Those who love life will eat life’s fruits.” However, this is not the case.

Even in English translation, the pronouns “it” and “its” most naturally refers to the “tongue”, and not to “life”. Moreover, the Hebrew expressions for “it” and “its” here indicate that their referent is a feminine singular noun. However, the Hebrew word for “life” here is is a masculine plural noun. Hence, according to Hebrew grammar, the pronouns “it” and “its” here cannot refer to “life”. Rather, the pronouns “it” and “its” here must refer to the “tongue”.

Therefore, the text is saying: “Those who love the tongue will eat the tongue’s fruits.” In other words, if a person who loves to talk, then he must live with the consequences of what he says, whether good or bad. This fits better the context of Proverbs 18, which is about human relationships and interactions.