“Bursting Fool”

Ecclesiasticus 19: 10, 11: “Have you heard a word? Let it die with you. Be brave! It will not make you burst! With such a word a fool will suffer pangs like a woman in labor with a child.” In context, ‘word’ refers to gossip, rumor, or chismis. What imagery (and sarcasm!) the writer uses to paint a picture of a fool trying to hold inside such a word! We’ve all seen it—it’s as if they are bursting, or in labor. That, however, describes a fool. For the wise and mature, restraining from such talk should be our nature—or rather, God’s nature in us.