¹³ A busybody is revealing secret counsel, And the faithful of spirit is covering the matter.

¹⁹ A revealer of secret counsels is the busybody, And for a deceiver `with' his lips make not thyself surety.

¹⁶ `Thou dost not go slandering among thy people; thou dost not stand against the blood of thy neighbour; I `am' Jehovah.

¹³ and at the same time also, they learn `to be' idle, going about the houses; and not only idle, but also tattlers and busybodies, speaking the things they ought not;

²⁷ And all the heads come in unto Jeremiah, and ask him, and he declareth to them according to all these words that the king commanded, and they keep silent from him, for the matter was not heard;

¹⁴ And the men say to her, `Our soul for yours -- to die; if ye declare not this our matter, then it hath been, in Jehovah's giving to us this land, that we have done with thee kindness and truth.'

²⁰ Without wood is fire going out, And without a tale-bearer, contention ceaseth,

²¹ Coal to burning coals, and wood to fire, And a man of contentions to kindle strife.

²² The words of a tale-bearer `are' as self-inflicted wounds, And they have gone down `to' the inner parts of the heart.

⁹ Thy cause plead with thy neighbour, And the secret counsel of another reveal not,

⁵ A faithful witness lieth not, And a false witness breatheth out lies.

¹⁷ Also, in those days the freemen of Judah are multiplying their letters going unto Tobiah, and those of Tobiah are coming in unto them;

¹⁸ for many in Judah are sworn to him, for he `is' son-in-law to Shechaniah son of Arah, and Jehohanan his son hath taken the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah;

¹⁹ also, his good deeds they have been saying before me, and my words they have been taking out to him; letters hath Tobiah sent to make me afraid.

²⁰ and if thou declare this our matter, then we have been acquitted from thine oath which thou hast caused us to swear.'