| 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. | When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. |
| Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. | Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. |
| Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. | O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. |
| 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. | So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. |
| May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. | Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. |
| Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions. | A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing personal opinion. |
| Rescue me, O Lord, from liars and from all deceitful people. | Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. |
| With their words, the godless destroy their friends, but knowledge will rescue the righteous. | With their mouths the godless would destroy their neighbors, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered. |
| Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels; they are asking for a beating. | A fool's lips bring strife, and a fool's mouth invites a flogging. |
| Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty! | In all toil there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. |
| Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up. | Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up. |
| 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. | If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. |
| Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! | Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. |
| And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. | And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. |
| The lips of the godly speak helpful words, but the mouth of the wicked speaks perverse words. | The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked what is perverse. |
| If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. | If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. |
| Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. | It is honorable to refrain from strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. |
| Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. | Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. |
| The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. | By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth. |
| Hiding hatred makes you a liar; slandering others makes you a fool. | Lying lips conceal hatred, and whoever utters slander is a fool. |
| Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. | Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy. |
| When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. | While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. |
| Eloquent words are not fitting for a fool; even less are lies fitting for a ruler. | Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a ruler. |
| 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. | Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly. |
| You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. | Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. |
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