Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
Parallel translations
- WEB Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.
- BSB He who guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from distress.
- NKJV Whoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles.
- NASB One who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.
- NLT Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.
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
Guarding the mouth and tongue keeps a person out of trouble. It matters because careful, controlled speech spares much grief.
Overview
Watching one's words protects the soul from the troubles that careless or harmful speech brings (Proverbs 13:3; James 3:2-8). The tongue holds great power for harm or good. Wisdom and self-control in speech are marks of a person who fears God and loves his neighbor.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Prov 13:3He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
- Prov 18:21Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
- Prov 17:27–28He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
- Jas 1:26If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
- Prov 12:13The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.
- Prov 10:19In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.
- Jas 3:2–13For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 21:23 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.