Proverbs 4:24 kjv
Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
Proverbs 4:24 nkjv
Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you.
Proverbs 4:24 niv
Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
Proverbs 4:24 esv
Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.
Proverbs 4:24 nlt
Avoid all perverse talk;
stay away from corrupt speech.
Proverbs 4 24 Cross References
Verse | Text | Reference |
---|---|---|
Prov 4:23 | "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." | Source of speech; foundational command. |
Ps 34:13 | "Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies." | Direct command for truthfulness and righteous speech. |
Jas 1:26 | "Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves..." | Religion tied to control of speech. |
Jas 3:2-10 | Describes the powerful and often destructive nature of the tongue. | Elaborates on the difficulty and importance of taming the tongue. |
Matt 12:34 | "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." | Connection between inner heart and outer speech. |
Lk 6:45 | "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart... For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." | Reiterates the heart-speech link. |
Eph 4:29 | "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up..." | Positive speech as an alternative to corrupt talk. |
Col 4:6 | "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt..." | Guidance for wise and beneficial speech. |
Prov 10:19 | "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." | Wisdom in restrained and thoughtful speech. |
Prov 13:3 | "He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin." | Life/ruin dependent on control of speech. |
Prov 18:21 | "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." | Immense power of speech to build or destroy. |
Prov 21:23 | "Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble." | Protection from trouble through careful speech. |
Prov 6:12 | "A troublemaker and a villain... with a perverse mouth..." | Defines perverse speech as characteristic of wickedness. |
Prov 8:8 | "All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or perverse in them." | Wisdom personified speaks pure words, in contrast. |
Prov 12:22 | "The Lord detests lying lips, but delights in people who are trustworthy." | God's view on deceitful vs. truthful speech. |
Ps 52:2 | "Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, working deceitfully." | Description of a tongue bent on evil and deceit. |
Ps 58:3 | "Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are waywayard and speak lies." | Innate sinfulness manifesting in deceitful speech. |
Zec 8:16 | "These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other..." | Prophetic call to truthfulness within the community. |
Isa 33:15 | "Those who walk righteously... and speak what is true..." | Righteousness tied to truthful speech. |
1 Pet 3:10 | "For, 'Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.'" | Echoes Ps 34:13, linking good life to pure speech. |
Ps 15:2 | "The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, and who speaks the truth from their heart." | Defines one fit for God's presence by their truthfulness. |
Rom 3:13-14 | "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." | Describes the pervasive sinfulness including speech. |
1 Tim 4:2 | "through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." | Connection between lying and a corrupted conscience. |
Proverbs 4 verses
Proverbs 4 24 Meaning
Proverbs 4:24 is a strong directive to the individual, urging the removal of all forms of crooked, deceitful, or misleading speech. It emphasizes that communication originating from a perverse mouth or twisted lips is to be consciously and decisively put away and kept far from oneself. This command is an integral part of living a wise and righteous life, serving as an external manifestation of a guarded heart. It calls for diligent self-control over one's words to maintain integrity and truthfulness, ensuring one's communication aligns with the path of righteousness that leads to life and peace.
Proverbs 4 24 Context
Proverbs Chapter 4 is presented as a father's passionate instruction to his son, urging him to earnestly embrace and guard wisdom. The chapter begins by calling the son to listen, promising understanding and a path to life and honor. It speaks of wisdom as a "way" or "path," guiding the individual away from the destructive ways of the wicked. Verse 20 encourages attending to divine words. Proverbs 4:23, directly preceding verse 24, issues the critical command to "guard your heart above all else, for from it flow the springs of life." This establishes the foundational principle that one's inner being is the wellspring of all external actions and expressions, including speech. Thus, Proverbs 4:24 serves as a practical application and necessary consequence of guarding the heart: pure words spring from a pure heart, while crooked speech reveals a heart that needs alignment with wisdom. Historically, in the ancient Near East, a man's word was his bond, and perverting truth could lead to severe social and legal consequences. Wisdom literature throughout the region often contrasted the upright speaker with the one who twists words for personal gain or malice, a concept the biblical proverbs frequently address.
Proverbs 4 24 Word analysis
Put away (הָסֵר - haser): This is a Hiphil imperative, indicating a command to actively cause something to be removed. It denotes an intentional, decisive action. It is not passive but demands a deliberate and personal effort to disassociate from and to get rid of harmful speech. The individual is responsible for initiating this removal.
from thee (מִמְּךָ - mimməkā): Emphasizes personal responsibility. This act of "putting away" must originate from the self, implying an internal discipline and outward action directed at one's own habits.
a froward (עִקְּשׁוּת - ʻiqqəšūt): Refers to "perversity," "crookedness," "deviousness," or "twisting." It comes from a root meaning to bend, twist, or act contrary to what is straight or right. In the context of speech, it denotes dishonesty, misleading talk, distorted truth, or speech that deviates from moral uprightness. It describes not just error, but an intentional turning from truth or righteousness.
mouth (פֶּה - peh): The physical organ of speech. It symbolizes the entire verbal expression. "Froward mouth" signifies speech that is intrinsically crooked, perverse, or deceitful in its fundamental nature or intent.
and perverse (וּלְזוּת - ūləzût): Often translated as "perverse," "crooked," "slander," or "lying." This term, similar to
ʻiqqəšūt
, highlights speech that is deliberately twisted, distorted, or deceitful. It conveys a sense of turning away from truth or proper conduct, leading others astray or engaging in harmful communication. It refers to insidious, disloyal, or mischievous speech.lips (שְׂפָתַיִם - śəp̄ātayim): The organs used in articulation, distinct yet complementary to the "mouth." The use of "lips" in parallelism with "mouth" intensifies the command, encompassing all forms of vocal expression, from precise words to implied meanings, that convey twisted intent. The dual form underscores the complete range of speech.
put far from thee (הַרְחֵק מִמֶּךָּ - harḥēq mimmekkāh): This is another Hiphil imperative from
רָחַק
(to be distant), intensified by its form and context. Whilehaser
means to remove,harḥēq
means to put far away or keep at a distance. This emphasizes an even stronger, more permanent severance or disengagement. Not merely stopping a behavior, but actively establishing a resolute distance from such speech patterns, making them alien to one's character. The repetition of "from thee" further underscores the personal and continuous effort required.ʻiqqəšūt peh
(Perversity of mouth): This phrase describes speech that is inherently twisted, dishonest, or morally crooked in its origin and character. It is communication that deviates from what is straightforward, truthful, and righteous, often designed to deceive or mislead others from the correct path.ūləzût śəp̄ātayim
(Perverse/Crookedness of lips): This parallels and reinforces the prior phrase, referring to speech characterized by lies, slander, or misleading distortions. It refers to a type of communication that not only misrepresents but often leads to moral or relational corruption. The pairing ofʻiqqəšūt peh
andūləzût śəp̄ātayim
emphasizes that not just specific words, but the overall character and intent of one's vocal expression, must be utterly free from duplicity and corruption. The use of both "mouth" and "lips" signifies the totality of one's speech, from inner thought (mouth) to outward articulation (lips), all must be brought under the domain of righteousness.
Proverbs 4 24 Bonus section
The parallelism in Proverbs 4:24, using two distinct but complementary Hebrew terms (ʻiqqəšūt
and ləzût
) for perversity or crookedness in speech, is a common feature of Hebrew poetry. This stylistic choice serves to intensify the meaning and broaden the scope of the instruction, covering a wide array of problematic communication. It implies that wisdom demands not just the absence of blatant lies, but also subtle deceptions, ambiguities, or twisted interpretations that distort truth and corrupt communication. The Hiphil imperatives, especially harḥēq
, convey the strong implication that avoiding such speech is not a passive abstention but requires active, deliberate cultivation of truthful communication and a constant rejection of all forms of verbal distortion. This proactive stance highlights the moral seriousness of speech in God's eyes and its crucial role in establishing one's character and walking the path of righteousness outlined throughout the chapter. It's a foundational ethical discipline within biblical wisdom literature, emphasized as a vital safeguard for the integrity of one's entire life and walk before God and humanity.
Proverbs 4 24 Commentary
Proverbs 4:24 delivers a sharp, practical command stemming directly from the preceding exhortation to guard one's heart (Prov 4:23). If the heart is the source of life's issues, then our speech is its most immediate and potent outflow. "A froward mouth" and "perverse lips" encompass all forms of crooked, deceitful, malicious, or misleading speech. This includes blatant lying, slander, idle gossip, manipulative flattery, dishonest arguments, and even ambiguous words intended to obscure truth or conceal bad motives. The double imperative, "put away" and "put far from thee," underscores the urgency, intentionality, and totality of the command. It's not enough to passively stop a bad speech habit; one must actively create a distance from it, establishing a resolute policy of speaking truthfully and righteously. This means consciously monitoring one's words, examining the intent behind them, and aligning every verbal expression with integrity and the wisdom received from God. The Christian life is marked by words that build up, bear witness to truth, and reflect the light of Christ, rather than causing confusion, harm, or turning people astray. Practically, this involves intentional thought before speaking, praying for divine help in controlling the tongue, and allowing the Holy Spirit to purify not only our words but the very heart from which they spring. For example, if tempted to exaggerate a story for attention, we are to "put away" that tendency; if the opportunity arises to spread gossip, we are to "put far from us" those perverse lips by refusing to speak such words.