The Meaning of Proverbs 18:20 Explained

Proverbs 18:20

KJV: A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.

YLT: From the fruit of a man's mouth is his belly satisfied, From the increase of his lips he is satisfied.

Darby: A man's belly is satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; with the increase of his lips is he satisfied.

ASV: A man's belly shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; With the increase of his lips shall he be satisfied.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

A man's  belly  shall be satisfied  with the fruit  of his mouth;  [and] with the increase  of his lips  shall he be filled. 

What does Proverbs 18:20 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The sense here is that we will have to be content to accept the consequences of what we say. "Satisfied" does not mean happy but filled. Yet "productive speech is satisfying." [1]
"The oxymoron forces the thought that whatever a person dishes out, whether beneficial or harmful, he himself will feed on to full measure through what his audience in return dishes out to him," [2]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 18

1  A fool delights not in understanding

What do the individual words in Proverbs 18:20 mean?

From the fruit of his mouth of man shall be satisfied a stomach [From] the produce of his lips he shall be filled
מִפְּרִ֣י פִי־ אִ֭ישׁ תִּשְׂבַּ֣ע בִּטְנ֑וֹ תְּבוּאַ֖ת שְׂפָתָ֣יו יִשְׂבָּֽע

מִפְּרִ֣י  From  the  fruit 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: פְּרִי  
Sense: fruit.
פִי־  of  his  mouth 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.
אִ֭ישׁ  of  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
תִּשְׂבַּ֣ע  shall  be  satisfied 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׂבַע  
Sense: to be satisfied, be sated, be fulfilled, be surfeited.
בִּטְנ֑וֹ  a  stomach 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בֶּטֶן  
Sense: belly, womb, body.
תְּבוּאַ֖ת  [From]  the  produce 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: תְּבוּאָה  
Sense: produce, product, revenue.
שְׂפָתָ֣יו  of  his  lips 
Parse: Noun, fdc, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׂפָה  
Sense: lip, language, speech, shore, bank, brink, brim, side, edge, border, binding.
יִשְׂבָּֽע  he  shall  be  filled 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׂבַע  
Sense: to be satisfied, be sated, be fulfilled, be surfeited.