Proverbs 18:4

The words of a man's mouth [are as] deep waters,.... The words of a great and mighty man; of an excellent and valuable man, as Jarchi; or of a wise man, as Aben Ezra.

The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook. The words of a man's mouth (are as) deep waters - i:e., a wise man's words, as the parallel clause shows.

A man’ s, i.e. a wise man’ s, as the next clause explains this; who is worthy of the name and hath the understanding of a man in him. This Hebrew word ofttimes notes an eminent or excellent person, and therefore is opposed to Adam, which designs any ordinary man. As deep waters; full of deep wisdom. The well-spring of wisdom as a flowing brook; that wisdom which is in his heart is continually pouring forth wise and good counsels.

Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man’ s mouth [are as] deep waters, [and] the wellspring of wisdom [as] a flowing brook. Ver. 4. The words of a man’ s mouth are as deep waters.] Fitly are the words of the wise resembled to waters, saith one, inasmuch as they both wash the minds of the hearers, that the foulness of sin remain not therein, and water them in such sort that they faint not, nor wither by a drought and burning desire of heavenly doctrine. Now these words of the wise are of two sorts - some are as deep waters, and cannot easily be fathomed, as Samson’ s riddles and Solomon’ s apothegms, so very much admired by the Queen of Sheba, 2 Chronicles 9:1-9; some again are plain, and flow so easily, as a flowing brook, that the simplest may understand them. The same may be affirmed of the holy Scriptures -- those "words of the wise and their dark sayings." The Scriptures, saith one, are both text and gloss; one place opens another; one place hath that plainly, that another delivers darkly. The Rabbis have one saying, That there is a mountain of sense hangs upon every apex of the word of God; and another they have, Nulla est obiectio in lege quae non habet solutionem in latere - i.e., There is not any doubt in the law but may be resolved by some other text. Parallel scriptures cast a mutual light one upon another; and is there not a thin veil laid over the word, which is more rarefied by reading, and at last wholly worn away? A friend, says Chrysostom, that is acquainted with his friend, will get out the meaning of a letter or phrase which another could not that is a stranger; so it is in the Scripture.

(4) The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters . . .—i.e., the words of a “man,” properly so called, are as deep waters which cannot be easily fathomed; they are a copious stream, which flows from a never failing source; they are a fountain of wisdom which is never exhausted.

Verse 4. The words of a man's mouth] That is, the wise sayings of a wise man are like deep waters; howsoever much you pump or draw off, you do not appear to lessen them. The well-spring of wisdom] Where there is a sound understanding, and a deep, well-informed mind, its wisdom and its counsels are an incessant stream, מקור חכמה mekor chochmah, "the vein of wisdom," ever throwing out its healthy streams: but מקור חיים mekor chaiyim, "the vein of LIVES," is the reading of eight of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and is countenanced by the Septuagint, πηγηζωης, "the fountain of life." And so the Arabic, [Arabic]. This is the more likely to be the true reading, because the figure of the heart propelling the blood through the great aorta, to send it to all parts of the animal system, is a favourite with Solomon, as it was with his father, David. See Clarke on Psalms 36:9; "Proverbs 10:11", &c.

4. a man’s mouth] The second clause of the verse limits and interprets the first. It is of a wise man’s mouth that the proverb speaks. His words are “as deep waters,” because they are no mere shallow talk, but are full of depth and meaning, “The well-spring of wisdom,” which is their source, does not soon run dry, but is “as a flowing brook,” in its full, clear, steady course. Such were Solomon’s own words to the queen of Sheba, 1 Kings 10:1; 1 Kings 10:3. Somewhat similarly the LXX. make the first clause refer to the still unuttered word in the heart, and the second to its leaping forth thence like the stream from the spring: “Deep water is a word in the heart of a man, But it leaps forth as a river and a fountain of life.”

The parallelism of the two clauses is probably one of contrast. If so, the proverb is a comparison between all teaching from without and that of the light within.

4. A flowing brook — A gushing stream. The clause may be rendered: “The words of a man’s mouth are a gushing stream, a fountain of wisdom.” Though it is not expressed, the proverb implies (see second