(箴言 20:19)
“往來傳舌的，洩漏密事．大張嘴的不可與他結交。”
在希伯來文的文化裡，往來傳舌的人其實是指一些小販或走私販。這意味著這種人會穿州過省，去到不同的地方來獲取自己的利益。用這些人來比喻喜歡講閑話的人，就非常貼切了。他們把別人的是非和秘密當作人情和社交手段，利用這些秘密在自己的社交圈子裡換取好處。這種出賣別人秘密來換取利益的行為，是非常無恥的。
至於後半句提到大張嘴的不可與他結交，大張嘴的意思就是指那些把口不收、無法保守秘密的人。這與前半句其實是在形容同樣的人。大張嘴是他們的本質，而往來傳舌則是他們的行為。聖經提醒我們，看到這種人時，雖然我們避無可避，但絕對不可與他結交。在希伯來文裡，結交有編織的意思，也就是說，我們不要把自己的生命與這種人連結在一起，不要和他們做深交的密友。我們絕對不能把自己的秘密和事情告訴他們，因為你一旦說了，他們聽完就會幫你散播出去。
所以我們在生活裡要精明一點。第一，當別人在說是非的時候，我們不要參與進去，因為這對被說的那個人非常不公平。第二，見到這種是非精，絕對不要向他們透露任何關於自己的事。第三，我們自己也千萬不要做這種大張嘴、傳是非的人。
(Proverbs 20:19)
“He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.”
In Hebrew culture, a talebearer actually refers to a peddler or a smuggler. This implies that such a person travels across provinces and states, going to different places to obtain their own profit. Using this to metaphorize people who like to gossip is highly appropriate. They treat other people’s gossip and secrets as social capital and social means, utilizing these secrets to exchange for benefits within their own social circles. This act of betraying others’ secrets in exchange for benefits is utterly shameless.
As for the latter half of the verse which mentions not associating with those who open their mouths wide, opening the mouth wide refers to those who cannot keep their mouths shut and are unable to keep secrets. This and the first half of the verse are actually describing the same kind of person. Opening the mouth wide is their nature, whereas going about as a talebearer is their behavior. The Bible reminds us that when we see this kind of person, although they are unavoidable, we must absolutely not associate with them. In Hebrew, association has the meaning of weaving, which means we should not weave our lives together with this kind of person, and we should not become close bosom friends with them. We can absolutely never tell them our secrets and matters, because once you speak of them, they will help you spread them all out after listening.
Therefore, we need to be a bit more shrewd in our lives. First, when others are gossiping, we must not participate in it, because this is highly unfair to the person being talked about. Second, when seeing this kind of gossiper, absolutely never disclose anything about yourself to them. Third, we ourselves must also never become the kind of person who opens the mouth wide and spreads gossip.
