Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
Parallel translations
- WEB Put away from yourself a perverse mouth. Put corrupt lips far from you.
- BSB Put away deception from your mouth; keep your lips from perverse speech.
- NKJV Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you.
- NASB Rid yourself of a deceitful mouth And keep devious speech far from you.
- NLT Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.
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
Put away crooked speech and corrupt lips. Wisdom shows itself in honest, pure words.
Overview
Flowing from the guarded heart (v. 23), wise living requires removing deceitful and perverse speech. Out of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt 12:34), so a renewed heart yields renewed words. The New Testament likewise calls believers to put off corrupt talk and speak what is good and edifying (Eph 4:29).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 8:8All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
- 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 8:13The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
- Eph 4:25–31Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
- Prov 6:12A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
- 1 Pet 2:1Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
- Jas 1:21Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
- Col 3:8But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
- 1 Tim 6:5Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
- Prov 17:20He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.
- Job 11:14If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.
- Ezek 18:31Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 4:24 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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