Língua

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

and those who love it will eat its fruit.  *

2 For we all stumble in many ways.  * If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body.  *

3 Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us,  * we direct their whole bodies. 4 And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things.  * Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed  * among our members. It stains the whole body,  * sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

7 Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  *

9 With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness.  *10 Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. 11 Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.

15 A ruler can be persuaded through patience,

and a gentle tongue can break a bone.  *

18 There is one who speaks rashly,

like a piercing sword;  *

but the tongue of the wise brings healing.  *

19 Truthful lips endure forever,

but a lying tongue, only a moment.  *

19 When there are many words, sin is unavoidable,

but the one who controls his lips is prudent.  *

28 Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent —

discerning, when he seals his lips.  *

26 If anyone  * thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue,  * his religion is useless and he deceives himself.

The Fleeting Nature of Life

1 I said, "I will guard my ways

so that I may not sin with my tongue;

I will guard my mouth with a muzzle

as long as the wicked are in my presence."  *

12 Who is someone who desires life,

loving a long life to enjoy what is good?  *

13 Keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from deceitful speech.  *

30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom;

his tongue speaks what is just.  *

31 The instruction of his God is in his heart;

his steps do not falter.  *

28 And my tongue will proclaim your righteousness,

your praise all day long.  *

4 Before a word is on my tongue,

you know all about it,  Lord.  *

2 "Lord, rescue me from lying lips

and a deceitful tongue."  *

3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips

and the tongue that speaks boastfully.  *

4 They say, "Through our tongues we have power;

our lips are our own — who can be our master? "  *

9 Lord, confuse  * and confound their speech,  *,*

for I see violence and strife in the city;

9 For this reason God highly exalted him  *

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

10 so that at the name of Jesus

every knee will bow  *  —

in heaven  * and on earth

and under the earth  *  —

11 and every tongue  * will confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory  * of God the Father.

Love: The Superior Way

1 If I speak human or angelic tongues  * but do not have love,  * I am a noisy gong  * or a clanging cymbal.

36 I tell you that on the day of judgment*people will have to account*for every careless*word they speak.*37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

5 Then the Lord came down  * to look over the city and the tower that the humans  * were building. 6 The Lord said, "If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let’s go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech." 8 So from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth,  * and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore it is called Babylon,  *,*,* for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth.