Context No. 3013 of 4322 · Proverbs

Proverbs 10:17-32: in context

17He is in the way of life who heeds correction, but he who forsakes reproof leads others astray. 18He who hides hatred has lying lips. He who utters a slander is a fool. 19In the multitude of words there is no lack of disobedience, but he who restrains his lips does wisely. 20The tongue of the righteous is like choice silver. The heart of the wicked is of little worth. 21The lips of the righteous feed many, but the foolish die for lack of understanding. 22The LORD’s blessing brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it. 23It is a fool’s pleasure to do wickedness, but wisdom is a man of understanding’s pleasure. 24What the wicked fear will overtake them, but the desire of the righteous will be granted. 25When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more; but the righteous stand firm forever. 26As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him. 27The fear of the LORD prolongs days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. 28The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hope of the wicked will perish. 29The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the upright, but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity. 30The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land. 31The mouth of the righteous produces wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off. 32The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked is perverse.

This run of proverbs sets the righteous and the wicked side by side, and many of them weigh the power of words. Whoever heeds correction is on the path of life. When words are many, sin is not far behind, but whoever holds his tongue is wise. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the lips of the righteous feed many.

Two threads run through it. Several proverbs measure how we speak: restraint is wisdom, for in a flood of words transgression is never absent, while righteous speech actually nourishes people, the lips of the righteous feed many. And beneath the whole collection runs the contrast of two ways and two ends. The righteous stand firm forever; the wicked pass like a whirlwind and are gone. The choices of the tongue and of the life are never neutral; day by day they set a person on one path or the other.

Do my words nourish others and show restraint, and is my life set, day by day, on the path of the righteous who stand firm, or the wicked who blow away?

Sources

Proverbs 10:19: "In the multitude of words there is no lack of disobedience, but he who restrains his lips does wisely."
Proverbs 10:21: "The lips of the righteous feed many, but the foolish die for lack of understanding."
Proverbs 10:25: "When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more; but the righteous stand firm forever."