Proverbs 18:4

a man's mouth The second clause of the verse limits and interprets the first. It is of a wiseman's mouth that the proverb speaks. His words are "as deep waters," because they are no mere shallow talk, but are full of depth and meaning, "The well-spring of wisdom," which is their source, does not soon run dry, but is "as a flowing brook," in its full, clear, steady course. Such were Solomon's own words to the queen of Sheba, 1 Kings 10:1; 1 Kings 10:3.

Somewhat similarly the LXX. make the first clause refer to the still unuttered word in the heart, and the second to its leaping forth thence like the stream from the spring:

"Deep water is a word in the heart of a man,

But it leaps forth as a river and a fountain of life."