The righteous nourish others with their words, but fools perish for lack of wisdom.
In Proverbs 10:21, Solomon writes, The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of understanding (v. 21). This proverb again treats words as nourishment. The righteous do not merely speak; they feed others through truth, counsel, encouragement, and wisdom.
To feed many means that righteous speech blesses a wider circle than the speaker himself. The wise become a source of strength to others because their words serve life. They help others remain steady, see clearly, and choose well. In this sense, wise speech is profoundly generous.
Fools, however, die for lack of understanding. Their problem is not the absence of information, but the refusal of wisdom. Because they reject truth, they cut themselves off from what could nourish them. Jesus later says that man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4), and Solomon’s proverb resonates deeply with that truth.
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Proverbs 10:21 meaning
In Proverbs 10:21, Solomon writes, The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of understanding (v. 21). This proverb again treats words as nourishment. The righteous do not merely speak; they feed others through truth, counsel, encouragement, and wisdom.
To feed many means that righteous speech blesses a wider circle than the speaker himself. The wise become a source of strength to others because their words serve life. They help others remain steady, see clearly, and choose well. In this sense, wise speech is profoundly generous.
Fools, however, die for lack of understanding. Their problem is not the absence of information, but the refusal of wisdom. Because they reject truth, they cut themselves off from what could nourish them. Jesus later says that man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4), and Solomon’s proverb resonates deeply with that truth.