And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for 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 like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. | Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. |
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Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! | Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. |
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing 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. |
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength 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. |
A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart. | Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions. |
Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips And from a deceitful tongue. | Rescue me, O Lord, from liars and from all deceitful people. |
The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered. | With their words, the godless destroy their friends, but knowledge will rescue the righteous. |
A fool’s lips enter into contention, And his mouth calls for blows. | Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels; they are asking for a beating. |
In all labor there is profit, But idle chatter leads only to poverty. | Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty! |
Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad. | Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up. |
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass 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! |
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse. | The lips of the godly speak helpful words, but the mouth of the wicked speaks perverse words. |
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. | And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. |
If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. | If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. |
It is honorable for a man to stop striving, Since any fool can start a quarrel. | Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. |
Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. | Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. |
For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. | You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. |
Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, And whoever spreads slander is a fool. | Hiding hatred makes you a liar; slandering others makes you a fool. |
Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool, Much less lying lips to a prince. | Eloquent words are not fitting for a fool; even less are lies fitting for a ruler. |
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; The heart of the wicked is worth little. | The words of the godly are like sterling silver; the heart of a fool is worthless. |
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. | The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. |
Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy. | Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. |
When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. | When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. |