Proverbs 10:10-12 (ESV)
10 Whoever winks the eye causes trouble,
and a babbling fool will come to ruin.
11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
but love covers all offenses.
The wink of the eye points to secretive scheming and hidden gestures used to achieve ungodly purposes. The person who stirs problems while pretending innocence winks the eye. Alongside him is the babbling fool, the one who talks endlessly yet refuses to listen. One creates trouble through cunning silence, the other through careless speech. Both paths damage relationships and end badly.
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life. The Hebrew word translated “fountain,” maqor, refers to a source or spring, the place where life giving water rises and continues to flow. In a dry land, a fountain meant refreshment, help, and survival. So it is with godly speech. Words marked by wisdom, truth, and kindness strengthen the weary, guide the confused, and refresh the discouraged. A righteous woman can bring life into a home, a friendship, a workplace, or a church simply by the way she speaks.
But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Just as verse 10 warns of secretive gestures, this verse warns of hidden harm beneath polished words. Some speech sounds pleasant on the surface while masking selfish motives, anger, envy, or hostility. Not every smiling word is sincere. Wicked speech may flatter, distort, divide, or deceive while hiding destructive intent.
Hatred stirs up strife. The Hebrew word translated “strife,” medan, speaks of bitter conflict and heated contention. Hatred keeps offenses alive, replays wrongs, assumes the worst, and invites others into the dispute. Love does the opposite. Love covers all offenses. The Hebrew verb translated “covers,” kasah, means to cover over. This does not mean excusing sin or ignoring serious wrongdoing. It means choosing forgiveness over vengeance, restraint over gossip, and reconciliation over public shaming. Love is eager to overlook personal slights and slow to expose another’s failures.
In every relationship, offenses will come. Misunderstandings and disappointments are not exceptions but part of life in a fallen world. The real question is not whether you will be wronged, but how you will respond. Will you feed the fire or quiet it with grace? Will you keep repeating the story, or cover it in love? Consider what Christ covered for you on the cross. Since you, a sinner, have received mercy, surely you can extend mercy to those who have sinned against you. Perhaps today is the day to cease rehearsing an old injury, to pray for the one who wronged you, and to set your heart toward peace.