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Friday, July 18th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Read the Bible

Young's Literal Translation

Proverbs 21:23

Whoso is keeping his mouth and his tongue, Is keeping from adversities his soul.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Prudence;   Speaking;   Tongue;   Thompson Chain Reference - Evil;   Silence-Speech;   Social Duties;   Speaking, Evil;   Tongue Restrained;   The Topic Concordance - Speech/communication;   Trouble;  

Dictionaries:

- Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Proverbs, Book of;   Tongue;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Poetry, Hebrew;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Shirah, Pereḳ (Pirḳe);  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for January 16;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The one who guards his mouth and tonguekeeps himself out of trouble.
Hebrew Names Version
Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue Keeps his soul from troubles.
King James Version
Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
English Standard Version
Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.
New American Standard Bible
One who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.
New Century Version
Those who are careful about what they say keep themselves out of trouble.
Amplified Bible
He who guards his mouth and his tongue Guards himself from troubles.
World English Bible
Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue Keeps his soul from troubles.
Geneva Bible (1587)
He that keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soule from afflictions.
Legacy Standard Bible
He who keeps his mouth and his tongue,Keeps his soul from troubles.
Berean Standard Bible
He who guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from distress.
Contemporary English Version
Watching what you say can save you a lot of trouble.
Complete Jewish Bible
Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps himself out of trouble.
Darby Translation
Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
Easy-to-Read Version
People who are careful about what they say will save themselves from trouble.
George Lamsa Translation
He who keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from trouble.
Good News Translation
If you want to stay out of trouble, be careful what you say.
Lexham English Bible
He who guards his mouth and his tongue, he guards his life from danger.
Literal Translation
Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from distresses.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Who so kepeth his mouth and his tonge, the same kepeth his soule from troubles.
American Standard Version
Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue Keepeth his soul from troubles.
Bible in Basic English
He who keeps watch over his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
King James Version (1611)
Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soule from troubles.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Who so kepeth his mouth and his tongue, the same kepeth his soule from troubles.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
He that keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from trouble.
English Revised Version
Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
He that kepith his mouth and his tunge, kepith his soule from angwischis.
Update Bible Version
Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue Keeps his soul from troubles.
Webster's Bible Translation
Whoever keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
New English Translation
The one who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his life from troubles.
New King James Version
Whoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles.
New Living Translation
Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.
New Life Bible
He who watches over his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.
New Revised Standard
To watch over mouth and tongue is to keep out of trouble.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
He that keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth, out of distresses, his soul.
Douay-Rheims Bible
He that keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from distress.
Revised Standard Version
He who keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.
THE MESSAGE
Watch your words and hold your tongue; you'll save yourself a lot of grief.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
He who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.

Contextual Overview

23 Whoso is keeping his mouth and his tongue, Is keeping from adversities his soul.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Proverbs 10:19, Proverbs 12:13, Proverbs 13:3, Proverbs 17:27, Proverbs 17:28, Proverbs 18:21, James 1:26, James 3:2-13

Reciprocal: Psalms 39:1 - that I Proverbs 10:14 - the mouth Proverbs 19:16 - keepeth his James 1:19 - slow to speak

Cross-References

Genesis 20:14
And Abimelech taketh sheep and oxen, and servants and handmaids, and giveth to Abraham, and sendeth back to him Sarah his wife;
Genesis 21:21
and he dwelleth in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother taketh for him a wife from the land of Egypt.
Genesis 21:22
And it cometh to pass at that time that Abimelech speaketh -- Phichol also, head of his host -- unto Abraham, saying, `God [is] with thee in all that thou art doing;
Genesis 21:23
and now, swear to me by God here: thou dost not lie to me, or to my continuator, or to my successor; according to the kindness which I have done with thee thou dost with me, and with the land in which thou hast sojourned.'
Genesis 24:3
and I cause thee to swear by Jehovah, God of the heavens, and God of the earth, that thou dost not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanite, in the midst of whom I am dwelling;
Genesis 26:28
And they say, `We have certainly seen that Jehovah hath been with thee, and we say, `Let there be, we pray thee, an oath between us, between us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;
Genesis 31:44
and now, come, let us make a covenant, I and thou, and it hath been for a witness between me and thee.'
Genesis 31:53
the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, doth judge between us -- the God of their father,' and Jacob sweareth by the Fear of his father Isaac.
Deuteronomy 6:13
Jehovah thy God thou dost fear, and Him thou dost serve, and by His name thou dost swear;
Joshua 2:12
`And now, swear ye, I pray you, to me by Jehovah -- because I have done with you kindness -- that ye have done, even ye, kindness with the house of my father, and have given to me a true token,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue,.... Guards the one and bridles the other; is careful of what he says, that it is truth, and without dissimulation and guile; and is not injurious to the characters of men, and is not offensive and provoking; who abstains from ill and wrathful language, and which tends to stir up wrath and contention. Aben Ezra distinguishes between the mouth and tongue, and interprets it, that keeps his mouth from eating, that is, immoderately and intemperately; and his tongue from speaking evil: but it is best to understand both of the same thing, of speech or language, which when a man is careful of, he

keepeth his soul from troubles; his conscience clear of guilt and distress, and his person from being concerned in quarrels, contentions, and lawsuits, which such who give their tongues too much liberty are involved in.


 
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