Midweek Devotional for Wednesday, September 23, 2026: Proverbs 10:11

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.” (Prov. 10:11)

Proverbs 10 begins a section in which Solomon gives us short, compact sayings, frequently represented as contrasts: righteous and wicked, wise and foolish, diligent and lazy. Verse 11 belongs to a small cluster concerned especially with the use of the mouth.

“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life”

The Hebrew behind “fountain of life” refers to a spring or source of flowing water. This imagery is stronger than merely saying that a righteous person says nice or encouraging things. In the dry environment of ancient Israel, a reliable spring represented life, refreshment, sustenance, and continuing provision.

Solomon therefore pictures the words of a righteous person as something from which others can continually receive benefit. His words instruct rather than deceive, encourage rather than destroy, reconcile rather than inflame, and direct others toward wisdom and ultimately toward God.

The righteous person’s speech gives life because the righteous person has first received life and wisdom from God. The second half of the verse, however, gives us a dark contrast: “But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.”

The Hebrew word translated “violence” refers to violence, wrongdoing, or malicious injury. “Conceals” suggests that destructive purposes can hide beneath outward speech. The wicked person’s words may not initially sound violent at all. They may disguise resentment, deceit, manipulation, or harmful intentions.

That makes the contrast particularly striking. One mouth is an open spring from which life flows; the other is a covering behind which evil hides. Solomon is concerned not merely with vocabulary but with the character of the person speaking.

Words reveal something about the condition of the heart. This keeps Proverbs 10:11 from becoming merely a lesson in good manners. Godly speech is the fruit of a heart being transformed by God’s grace.

The apostle Paul applies this principle in Eph. 4:29: “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”

When people have listened to us, have our words left them spiritually refreshed, strengthened, instructed, and encouraged—or have our words left damage behind?