| Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool, Much less lying lips to a prince. | Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool— how much worse lying lips to a ruler! |
| Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As raindrops on the tender herb, And as showers on the grass. | Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. |
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| The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. | The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. |
| Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. | Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. |
| The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate. | To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. |
| Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. | Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. |
| My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. | Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. |
| Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. | Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. |
| Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die. | Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. |
| In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise. | Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues. |
| For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.” | For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.” |
| For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. | We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. |
| Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. | Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. |
