Proverbs 10:21

Wisdom and Words

Commonplace –

“The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom” (Proverbs 10:21).

Once again, Solomon reminds us how impactful our words are. In Proverbs 10:21, Solomon tells us the “lips of the righteous feed many”. If our words are good, they are nourishment to those who hear us. Good words come from a heart of wisdom. That same wisdom that fills us overflows to others around us, feeding those who hear us, building good relationships, which brings goodness back to us. In contrast, “fools die for want of wisdom”. When our words are wicked, they are indicative of a wicked heart. Nothing good flows out of a wicked heart. So when we speak wicked words, we not only harm those around us, we harm ourselves by destroying relationships.

In regard to Proverbs 10:21, Matthew Henry wrote:

“The lips of the righteous feed many; for they are full of the word of God, which is the bread of life, and that sound doctrine wherewith souls are nourished up. Pious discourse is spiritual food to the needy, to the hungry” (693),

while “Fools die for want of a heart (so the word is); they perish for want of consideration and resolution; they have no heart to do any thing for their own good. While the righteous feed others fools starve themselves” (694).

Works Cited

Henry, Matthew. “Proverbs 10:21.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

© 2025 Angela Hormberg