Proverbs 13:3
ContextNETBible | The one who guards his words 1 guards his life, but 2 whoever is talkative 3 will come to ruin. 4 |
XREF | Ps 39:1; Pr 10:19; Pr 12:13; Pr 21:23; Mt 12:36,37; Jas 1:26; Jas 3:2-12 |
NET © Notes |
1 tn Heb “mouth” (so KJV, NAB). The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech. 2 tn The term “but” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness. 3 tn Heb “opens wide his lips.” This is an idiom meaning “to be talkative” (BDB 832 s.v. פָּשַׂק Qal). Cf. NIV “speaks rashly”; TEV “a careless talker”; CEV “talk too much.” 4 sn Tight control over what one says prevents trouble (e.g., Prov 10:10; 17:28; Jas 3:1-12; Sir 28:25). Amenemope advises to “sleep a night before speaking” (5:15; ANET 422, n. 10). The old Arab proverb is appropriate: “Take heed that your tongue does not cut your throat” (O. Zockler, Proverbs, 134). |