10:21

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

21a
The lips of the righteous feed many,

21b but fools die for lack of judgment.

The parallelism is not exact. The verse contrasts the benefits of a righteous person’s words with the deadly result of being too foolish to respond to good advice.

10:21a

The lips of the righteous feed many: The phrase The lips of the righteous has the same meaning as “the tongue of the righteous” in 10:20a. The verb feed is frequently used of shepherds who feed or care for their sheep. Here it is used figuratively to mean “benefit.” Another way to translate the meaning of this line is:

The words of a righteous person benefit many people.

10:21b

but fools die for lack of judgment: In contrast to righteous people, whose words benefit others, fools are people who reject instruction. Because of this lack of good sense, they will die. It is implied that they will die prematurely. Another way to translate this line is:

but stubborn fools die because they have no sense (God’s Word)

for more information on these words.

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