“The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters”: There is no verb in either line of this saying. Interpreters vary greatly in their understanding of it. Line 1 appears to be closely related to the idea expressed in 20.5, where what a person thinks with his mind (expressed in Hebrew as “heart”) is compared with “deep waters”. This thought is supported by 16.23. It is not entirely clear if “deep waters” is to be taken here as “profound thoughts” or “obscure thoughts” that a person expresses in his or her “words”. Whybray understands this image to mean that a person’s character is like “deep water” in that it is not easily observed.
“The fountain of wisdom is a gushing stream”: Revised Standard Version takes the subject of this verbless clause to be “the fountain of wisdom” that is compared with a flowing, running or “gushing stream” (of water). The expression “fountain of wisdom” is used here for the first time in Proverbs. It is similar to “fountain of life” used in 10.11. It is a figure of speech that may be expressed, for example, “They are like a fountain that gives wisdom” or “. . . a source flowing with wisdom.”
Translators may follow the pattern of Revised Standard Version or that of Good News Translation. In the case of Good News Translation, the translators have supplied the verb “can be” in order to avoid saying whether “The words of a man’s mouth” in line 1 are “words of wise people” or “any words spoken by a person.” Good News Translation has then adjusted the metaphor “fountain of wisdom” to “a source of wisdom” and used the link words “can be” to show that this describes “The words of a man’s mouth”. “Deep waters” from line 1 and “gushing stream” are then made to serve as similes for wisdom. Another model that translators may use is that of Contemporary English Version: “Words of wisdom are a stream that flows from a deep fountain.”
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 .