Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Parallel translations
- WEB Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who love it will eat its fruit.
- KJV Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
- NKJV Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
- NASB Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
- NLT The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The tongue holds the power of life and death. Our words carry immense weight, and we will bear their consequences.
Overview
This well-known proverb declares that death and life are in the power of the tongue, and that those who indulge it will eat its fruit. Words can build up or destroy, bless or curse, and we are accountable for them. James develops this theme at length (James 3), and the gospel both warns of judgment for careless words (Matt. 12:36-37) and offers a renewed tongue that speaks grace through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Eph 4:29Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.
- Matt 12:35–37The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.
- Col 4:6Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
- Prov 10:19–21When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.
- Jas 3:6–9The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
- Prov 13:2–3From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things, but the desire of the faithless is violence.
- Prov 10:31The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out.
- Eccl 10:12–14The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.
- Prov 18:4–7The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
- Prov 12:13An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech, but a righteous man escapes from trouble.
- Isa 57:19bringing praise to their lips. Peace, peace to those far and near,” says the LORD, “and I will heal them.”
- Prov 11:30The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
- 2 Pet 2:18With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error.
- Titus 1:10–11For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision,
- Rom 10:14–15How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?
- 2 Cor 11:15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.
- 2 Cor 2:16To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 18:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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