Proverbs 15:4 New English Translation

⁴Speech^[a] that heals^[b] is like^[c] a life-giving tree,^[d]
but a perverse speech^[e] breaks the spirit.^[f]

Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “a tongue.” The term “tongue” is a metonymy of cause for what is produced: speech.
Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “a tongue of healing.” A healing tongue refers to speech that is therapeutic or soothing. It is a source of vitality.
Proverbs 15:4 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “tree of life.”
Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “perversion in it.” The referent must be the tongue, representing speech, from the first line; so this has been supplied in the translation for clarity. A tongue that is twisted, perverse, or deceitful is a way of describing deceitful speech. Such words will crush the spirit.
Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “is a fracture in the spirit.”

New English Translation (NET)