Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
When there's no wood to burn, the fire goes out. In the same way, when there's no one spreading gossip, arguments and conflicts come to an end.
This verse is teaching that gossip fuels conflict just like wood fuels fire - remove the gossip, and the fighting stops.
📚 Historical Context
This proverb comes from Solomon's collection of wise sayings, written during Israel's golden age around 950 BC. In ancient times, people lived in close-knit communities where gossip and tale-bearing could quickly destroy relationships and create lasting feuds between families or clans. The comparison to fire and wood would have been especially meaningful since maintaining fires was a daily necessity and people understood how quickly fires died without fuel.
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