Gossip

Idle talk about others, especially sharing private or harmful information. Proverbs repeatedly condemns gossip: 'A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret' (11:13). 'Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down' (26:20). 'The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts' (18:8). Paul lists gossip among serious sins (Romans 1:29, 2 Corinthians 12:20). First Timothy 5:13 warns against those who 'go about from house to house... saying things they ought not to.' Ephesians 4:29 instructs, 'Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up.'