Língua

21 The tongue can bring death or life;

those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.

3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. 6 And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.*

7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.

9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! 11 Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? 12 Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.*

15 Patience can persuade a prince,

and soft speech can break bones.

18 Some people make cutting remarks,

but the words of the wise bring healing.

19 Truthful words stand the test of time,

but lies are soon exposed.

19 Too much talk leads to sin.

Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.

28 Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent;

with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.

26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

1 I said to myself, "I will watch what I do

and not sin in what I say.

I will hold my tongue

when the ungodly are around me."

12 Does anyone want to live a life

that is long and prosperous?

13 Then keep your tongue from speaking evil

and your lips from telling lies!

30 The godly offer good counsel;

they teach right from wrong.

31 They have made God’s law their own,

so they will never slip from his path.

28 Then I will proclaim your justice,

and I will praise you all day long.

4 You know what I am going to say

even before I say it, Lord.

2 Rescue me, O Lord, from liars

and from all deceitful people.

3 May the Lord cut off their flattering lips

and silence their boastful tongues.

4 They say, "We will lie to our hearts’ content.

Our lips are our own—who can stop us?"

9 Confuse them, Lord, and frustrate their plans,

for I see violence and conflict in the city.

9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor

and gave him the name above all other names,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Love Is the Greatest

1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.37 The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you."

5 But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. 6 "Look!" he said. "The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! 7 Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other."

8 In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why the city was called Babel,* because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.