13An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips,
         But the righteous will escape from trouble.

14A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words,
         And the deeds of a man’s hands will return to him.

15The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
         But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

16A fool’s anger is known at once,
         But a prudent man conceals dishonor.

17He who speaks truth tells what is right,
         But a false witness, deceit.

18There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword,
         But the tongue of the wise brings healing.

19Truthful lips will be established forever,
         But a lying tongue is only for a moment.

20Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,
         But counselors of peace have joy.

21No harm befalls the righteous,
         But the wicked are filled with trouble.

22Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD,
         But those who deal faithfully are His delight.

23A prudent man conceals knowledge,
         But the heart of fools proclaims folly.

24The hand of the diligent will rule,
         But the slack hand will be put to forced labor.

25Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down,
         But a good word makes it glad.

26The righteous is a guide to his neighbor,
         But the way of the wicked leads them astray.

27A lazy man does not roast his prey,
         But the precious possession of a man is diligence.

28In the way of righteousness is life,
         And in its pathway there is no death.

NASB ©1995

American Standard Version
In the transgression of the lips is a snare to the evil man; But the righteous shall come out of trouble.

Douay-Rheims Bible
For the sins of the lips ruin draweth nigh to the evil mall: but the just shall escape out of distress.

Darby Bible Translation
In the transgression of the lips is an evil snare; but a righteous man shall go forth out of trouble.

English Revised Version
In the transgression of the lips is a snare to the evil man: but the righteous shall come out of trouble.

Webster's Bible Translation
The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.

World English Bible
An evil man is trapped by sinfulness of lips, but the righteous shall come out of trouble.

Young's Literal Translation
In transgression of the lips is the snare of the wicked, And the righteous goeth out from distress.The Many-Sided Contrast of Wisdom and Folly
'Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish. 2. A good man obtaineth favour of the Lord: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. 3. A man shall not be established by wickedness; but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. 4. A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones. 5. The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit. 6. The words of the wicked are to lie …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

April the Twenty-Second Speech as a Symptom of Health
"The tongue of the wise is health." --PROVERBS xii. 13-22. Our doctors often test our physical condition by the state of our tongue. With another and deeper significance the tongue is also the register of our condition. Our words are a perfect index of our moral and spiritual health. If our words are unclean and untrue, our souls are assuredly sickly and diseased. A perverse tongue is never allied with a sanctified heart. And, therefore, everyone may apply a clinical test to his own life: "What …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

To Pastors and Teachers
To Pastors and Teachers If all who laboured for the conversion of others were to introduce them immediately into Prayer and the Interior Life, and make it their main design to gain and win over the heart, numberless as well as permanent conversions would certainly ensue. On the contrary, few and transient fruits must attend that labour which is confined to outward matters; such as burdening the disciple with a thousand precepts for external exercises, instead of leaving the soul to Christ by the …
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

Of Having Confidence in God when Evil Words are Cast at Us
"My Son, stand fast and believe in Me. For what are words but words? They fly through the air, but they bruise no stone. If thou are guilty, think how thou wouldst gladly amend thyself; if thou knowest nothing against thyself, consider that thou wilt gladly bear this for God's sake. It is little enough that thou sometimes hast to bear hard words, for thou art not yet able to bear hard blows. And wherefore do such trivial matters go to thine heart, except that thou art yet carnal, and regardest …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

The Ninth Commandment
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.' Exod 20: 16. THE tongue which at first was made to be an organ of God's praise, is now become an instrument of unrighteousness. This commandment binds the tongue to its good behaviour. God has set two natural fences to keep in the tongue, the teeth and lips; and this commandment is a third fence set about it, that it should not break forth into evil. It has a prohibitory and a mandatory part: the first is set down in plain words, the other …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Authority and Utility of the Scriptures
2 Tim. iii. 16.--"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." We told you that there was nothing more necessary to know than what our end is, and what the way is that leads to that end. We see the most part of men walking at random,--running an uncertain race,--because they do not propose unto themselves a certain scope to aim at, and whither to direct their whole course. According to men's particular …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"But Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, and all These Things Shall be Added unto You. "
Matth. vi. 33.--"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." The perfection even of the most upright creature, speaks always some imperfection in comparison of God, who is most perfect. The heavens, the sun and moon, in respect of lower things here, how glorious do they appear, and without spot! But behold, they are not clean in God's sight! How far are the angels above us who dwell in clay! They appear to be a pure mass of light and …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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