Proverbs 13:3

The one who guards his words ¹  guards his life, but ²  whoever is talkative ³  will come to ruin. ⁴ 

He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.

The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

Those who control their tongue will have a long life; a quick retort can ruin everything.

Careful words make for a careful life; careless talk may ruin everything.

He who keeps a watch on his mouth keeps his life; but he whose lips are open wide will have destruction.

Those who guard their mouths preserve their lives; those who open wide their lips come to ruin.

He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

The one who guards his words ¹  guards his life, but ²  whoever is talkative ³  will come to ruin. ⁴ 

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).