And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. | When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. |
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. | Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. |
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Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make His deeds known among the peoples. | Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. |
So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it. | It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. |
A fool does not delight in understanding, But in revealing his own mind. | Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions. |
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. | May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. |
Rescue my soul, Lord, from lying lips, From a deceitful tongue. | Rescue me, O Lord, from liars and from all deceitful people. |
A fool’s lips bring strife, And his mouth invites beatings. | Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels; they are asking for a beating. |
With his mouth the godless person destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be rescued. | With their words, the godless destroy their friends, but knowledge will rescue the righteous. |
In all labor there is profit, But mere talk leads only to poverty. | Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty! |
Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad. | Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up. |
If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. | If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. |
Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. | Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! |
If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless. | If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. |
Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. | And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. |
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked, what is perverted. | The lips of the godly speak helpful words, but the mouth of the wicked speaks perverse words. |
Avoiding strife is an honor for a person, But any fool will quarrel. | Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. |
And when they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that time; for you are not the ones speaking, but it is the Holy Spirit. | But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. |
When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. | When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. |
Do not participate in the useless deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. | Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. |
Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, Lord, You know it all. | You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. |
Rid yourself of a deceitful mouth And keep devious speech far from you. | Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. |
And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.” | Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.” |
Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the poor and needy. | Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. |
Excellent speech is not fitting for a fool, Much less are lying lips to a prince. | Eloquent words are not fitting for a fool; even less are lies fitting for a ruler. |