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100 Bible Verses about Our Tongue

James 3:8 ESV / 512 helpful votes

But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Proverbs 18:21 ESV / 432 helpful votes

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Matthew 12:36-37 ESV / 415 helpful votes

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Proverbs 21:23 ESV / 408 helpful votes

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Ephesians 4:29 ESV / 351 helpful votes

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Proverbs 12:18 ESV / 321 helpful votes

There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

James 1:26 ESV / 319 helpful votes

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

Proverbs 15:4 ESV / 252 helpful votes

A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV / 217 helpful votes

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

1 Peter 3:10 ESV / 181 helpful votes

For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;

Psalm 39:1 ESV / 178 helpful votes

To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

James 3:1-18 ESV / 165 helpful votes

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ...

Matthew 5:22 ESV / 149 helpful votes

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Proverbs 19:5 ESV / 133 helpful votes

A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape.

Hebrews 4:12 ESV / 126 helpful votes

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Luke 6:45 ESV / 126 helpful votes

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

1 Peter 2:1 ESV / 112 helpful votes

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

Proverbs 25:18 ESV / 82 helpful votes

A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow.

Psalm 12:3-4 ESV / 75 helpful votes

May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

Matthew 5:33-37 ESV / 69 helpful votes

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

1 John 1:9 ESV / 67 helpful votes

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Revelation 21:8 ESV / 65 helpful votes

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

James 3:5 ESV / 64 helpful votes

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!

Proverbs 5:4 ESV / 64 helpful votes

But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

Psalm 91:1-16 ESV / 64 helpful votes

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, ...

Proverbs 10:19 ESV / 56 helpful votes

When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

James 3:10 ESV / 55 helpful votes

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

Psalm 23:1-6 ESV / 50 helpful votes

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ...

Psalm 73:26 ESV / 49 helpful votes

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Proverbs 25:15 ESV / 46 helpful votes

With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.

1 Corinthians 14:1-40 ESV / 45 helpful votes

Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. ...

Isaiah 1:1-31 ESV / 44 helpful votes

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. ...

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV / 42 helpful votes

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

James 1:19 ESV / 41 helpful votes

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Proverbs 5:1-23 ESV / 41 helpful votes

My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge. For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; ...

Proverbs 15:1 ESV / 37 helpful votes

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 13:3 ESV / 36 helpful votes

Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

1 John 1:8-10 ESV / 35 helpful votes

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Psalm 34:13 ESV / 35 helpful votes

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

Matthew 12:36 ESV / 33 helpful votes

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,

Isaiah 50:4 ESV / 32 helpful votes

The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.

Psalm 141:3 ESV / 32 helpful votes

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

Deuteronomy 18:15 ESV / 29 helpful votes

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—

James 3:2 ESV / 28 helpful votes

For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

John 3:18-19 ESV / 28 helpful votes

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

Proverbs 25:11 ESV / 28 helpful votes

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

James 3:6 ESV / 27 helpful votes

And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

James 3:1-12 ESV / 26 helpful votes

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ...

Colossians 4:6 ESV / 26 helpful votes

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Ephesians 5:4 ESV / 26 helpful votes

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Psalm 19:14 ESV / 25 helpful votes

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Philippians 2:11 ESV / 24 helpful votes

And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Romans 15:4 ESV / 24 helpful votes

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Matthew 15:11 ESV / 22 helpful votes

It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

Psalm 15:3 ESV / 22 helpful votes

Who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

Isaiah 3:16-24 ESV / 21 helpful votes

The Lord said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet, therefore the Lord will strike with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts. In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; ...

James 3:9 ESV / 20 helpful votes

With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

John 3:16 ESV / 20 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 1:1 ESV / 19 helpful votes

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Proverbs 17:9 ESV / 19 helpful votes

Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

Proverbs 29:20 ESV / 18 helpful votes

Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Proverbs 17:27-28 ESV / 18 helpful votes

Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Psalm 37:30 ESV / 18 helpful votes

The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.

James 3:1 ESV / 17 helpful votes

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

Proverbs 26:20 ESV / 17 helpful votes

For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.

Proverbs 16:24 ESV / 17 helpful votes

Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

Proverbs 15:28 ESV / 17 helpful votes

The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

Matthew 12:37 ESV / 16 helpful votes

For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Proverbs 31:26 ESV / 16 helpful votes

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

Proverbs 16:28 ESV / 16 helpful votes

A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.

Proverbs 18:8 ESV / 15 helpful votes

The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.

Proverbs 15:2 ESV / 15 helpful votes

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

Romans 3:13 ESV / 14 helpful votes

“Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”

Matthew 12:30 ESV / 14 helpful votes

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Proverbs 18:13 ESV / 14 helpful votes

If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.

James 4:1-17 ESV / 13 helpful votes

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? ...

Matthew 12:34 ESV / 13 helpful votes

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Proverbs 17:27 ESV / 13 helpful votes

Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Proverbs 16:27 ESV / 13 helpful votes

A worthless man plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.

Proverbs 6:17 ESV / 13 helpful votes

Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

Psalm 71:24 ESV / 13 helpful votes

And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long, for they have been put to shame and disappointed who sought to do me hurt.

Psalm 35:28 ESV / 13 helpful votes

Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.

Romans 10:9 ESV / 12 helpful votes

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 ESV / 12 helpful votes

Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.

Ecclesiastes 3:7 ESV / 12 helpful votes

A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

Proverbs 25:23 ESV / 12 helpful votes

The north wind brings forth rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.

Proverbs 11:13 ESV / 12 helpful votes

Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.

Psalm 110:1 ESV / 12 helpful votes

A Psalm of David. The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

Psalm 68:19 ESV / 12 helpful votes

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah

James 1:19-20 ESV / 11 helpful votes

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Proverbs 15:23 ESV / 11 helpful votes

To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!

Proverbs 11:9 ESV / 11 helpful votes

With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.

Exodus 3:14 ESV / 11 helpful votes

God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

1 Peter 3:15 ESV / 10 helpful votes

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

James 3:13 ESV / 10 helpful votes

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 ESV / 10 helpful votes

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ...

Acts 2:38 ESV / 10 helpful votes

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:8 ESV / 10 helpful votes

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Proverbs 11:12 ESV / 10 helpful votes

Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.

Proverbs 10:31 ESV / 10 helpful votes

The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

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