A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends. | A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends. |
Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts. Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. | He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend. |
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A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence. | Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered. |
Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. | Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. |
With their words, the godless destroy their friends, but knowledge will rescue the righteous. | With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered. |
Hiding hatred makes you a liar; slandering others makes you a fool. | The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool. |
God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. | Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. |
Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. | Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. |
Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! | Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. |
Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. | A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. |
Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart. | The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body. |