This verse is a clear statement about two kinds of people.

“He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets”: “A talebearer”, which is literally “worker of slander,” means someone who goes about spreading gossip or bad reports about others. “Reveals secrets”, that is, makes public those things about people that for the good of the community need not be known. This can refer to such things as the private lives of people. The contrast is between the “talebearer” and the person in the second line who is “trustworthy”. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy tersely translates this line as “The gossiper tells everything.”

“But he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing hidden”: “Trustworthy in spirit” refers to a reliable or dependable person, someone we can trust or place full confidence in. “Keeps . . . hidden” means that this person keeps to himself or herself private information about other people for the good of the life of the community. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates this line as “The discreet person keeps a secret.”

Contemporary English Version renders the verse “A gossip tells everything, but a true friend will keep a secret.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .