24  Put away from you ^qcrooked speech,

and put ^rdevious talk far from you.

12  ^vA worthless person, a wicked man,

goes about with ^wcrooked speech,

13  ^xwinks with his eyes, signals¹ with his feet,

points with his finger,

14  with ^yperverted heart ^zdevises evil,

continually ^asowing discord;

15  therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;

^bin a moment he will be broken ^cbeyond healing.

6  Hear, for I will speak ^unoble things,

and from my lips will come ^vwhat is right,

7  for my ^wmouth will utter truth;

wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

8  All the words of my mouth are righteous;

there is nothing ^xtwisted or crooked in them.

13  ^dThe fear of the Lord is ^ehatred of evil.

^fPride and arrogance and the way of evil

and ^gperverted speech I hate.

11  ^uThe mouth of the righteous is ^va fountain of life,

but the mouth of the wicked ⁿconceals violence.

14  The wise ^zlay up knowledge,

but ^athe mouth of a fool brings ruin near.

17  Whoever heeds instruction is on ^dthe path to life,

but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.

18  The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,

and whoever utters slander is a fool.

19  ^eWhen words are many, transgression is not lacking,

^fbut whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

20  The tongue of the righteous is ^gchoice silver;

the heart of the wicked is of little worth.

21  The lips of the righteous feed many,

but fools die for ^hlack of sense.

31  ^xThe mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,

but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

32  The lips of the righteous ^yknow what is acceptable,

but the mouth of the wicked, ^zwhat is perverse.

9  With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor,

but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.

10  ⁿWhen it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,

and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness.

11  By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,

but ^oby the mouth of the wicked ^pit is overthrown.

12  Whoever ^qbelittles his neighbor lacks sense,

but a man of understanding remains silent.

13  Whoever ^rgoes about slandering reveals secrets,

but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.

6  The words of the wicked ⁱlie in wait for blood,

but ^jthe mouth of the upright delivers them.

7  ^kThe wicked are ^loverthrown and are no more,

^mbut the house of the righteous will stand.

8  A man is commended according to his good sense,

but one of twisted mind is ⁿdespised.

13  An evil man is ensnared ^uby the transgression of his lips,¹

^vbut the righteous escapes from trouble.

14  From the fruit of his mouth ^wa man is satisfied with good,

^xand the work of a man’s hand comes back to him.

23  ^kA prudent man conceals knowledge,

^kbut the heart of fools proclaims folly.

25  ⁿAnxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down,

but a good word makes him glad.

25  ^dThe righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,

but the belly of the wicked suffers want.

3  By the mouth of a fool comes ^ja rod for his back,¹

^kbut the lips of the wise will preserve them.

2  The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,

but ^fthe mouths of fools pour out folly.

7  ⁿThe lips of the wise spread knowledge;

ⁿnot so the hearts of fools.¹

25  The Lord tears down the house of ^qthe proud

but ^rmaintains ^sthe widow’s boundaries.

26  ^tThe thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord,

but ^ugracious words are pure.

28  The heart of the righteous ^yponders how to answer,

but ^zthe mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

30  ^cThe light of the eyes rejoices the heart,

and ^dgood news refreshes¹ the bones.

1  The plans of the heart belong to man,

but ^lthe answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

21  The wise of heart is called discerning,

and sweetness of speech ^rincreases persuasiveness.

23  ^tThe heart of the wise makes his speech judicious

and adds persuasiveness to his lips.

24  ^uGracious words are like ^va honeycomb,

sweetness to the soul and ^whealth to the body.

27  ^yA worthless man plots evil,

and his speech¹ is like ^za scorching fire.

27  Whoever ^wrestrains his words has knowledge,

and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

28  Even a fool ^xwho keeps silent is considered wise;

when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

4  The words of a man’s mouth are ^adeep waters;

the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

7  ^eA fool’s mouth is his ruin,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

8  ^fThe words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;

they go down into ^gthe inner parts of the body.

13  If one gives an answer ^obefore he hears,

it is his folly and shame.

20  ^sFrom the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied;

he is satisfied by the yield of his lips.

21  ^tDeath and life are in the power of the tongue,

and those who love it will eat its fruits.

1  ^aBetter is a poor person who ^bwalks in his integrity

than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.

15  There is gold and abundance of ^vcostly stones,

^wbut the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

19  Whoever ^egoes about slandering reveals secrets;

therefore do not associate with ^fa simple babbler.¹

25  It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,”

and to reflect only ^oafter making vows.

23  ^cWhoever keeps his mouth and his tongue

^dkeeps himself out of ^etrouble.

11  He who ^floves purity of heart,

and whose ^gspeech is gracious, ^hwill have the king as his friend.

12  The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,

but he ⁱoverthrows the words of the traitor.

11  ^yA word fitly spoken

is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

23  The north wind brings forth rain,

and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.

22  ^sThe words of ^pa whisperer are like delicious morsels;

they go down into the inner parts of the body.

23  ^tLike the ^uglaze¹ covering an earthen vessel

are fervent lips with an evil heart.

24  Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips

and harbors deceit in his heart;

25  ^vwhen he speaks graciously, believe him not,

for there are ^wseven abominations in his heart;

26  though his hatred be covered with deception,

his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

27  ^xWhoever digs a pit will fall into it,

and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.

28  A lying tongue hates its victims,

and a flattering mouth works ruin.

23  Whoever ^prebukes a man will afterward find more favor

than ^qhe who flatters with his tongue.

20  Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?

^cThere is more hope for a fool than for him.

10  ^cDo not slander a servant to his master,

^dlest he curse you, and you be held guilty.