Speaking: Evil

You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.

Even little boys scorn me; when I appear, they deride me.

His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; trouble and malice are under his tongue.

He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless.

May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue.

They say, “With our tongues we will prevail. We own our lips—who can be our master?”

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech.

They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”

My enemies say with malice: “When will he die and be forgotten?” …

Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit. …

By the sins of their mouths and the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride, in the curses and lies they utter.

Hide me from the scheming of the wicked, from the mob of workers of iniquity, …

Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of drunkards.

For they persecute the one You struck and recount the pain of those You wounded.

May those who say, “Aha, aha!” retreat because of their shame.

All day long my enemies taunt me; they ridicule me and curse me.

For they rebelled against His Spirit, and Moses spoke rashly with his lips.

Though rulers sit and slander me, Your servant meditates on Your statutes.

A song of ascents. In my distress I cried to the LORD, and He answered me. …

They sharpen their tongues like snakes; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah

May no slanderer be established in the land; may calamity hunt down the man of violence.

Put away deception from your mouth; keep your lips from perverse speech.

There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him: …

To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.

The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out.

The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked is perverse.

By the blessing of the upright a city is built up, but by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.

The plans of the righteous are just, but the counsel of the wicked leads to deceit.

The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.

An evil man is trapped by his rebellious speech, but a righteous man escapes from trouble.

He who speaks the truth declares what is right, but a false witness speaks deceit. …

He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.

A truthful witness saves lives, but one who utters lies is deceitful.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil.

A worthless man digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.

A perverse man spreads dissension, and a gossip divides close friends.

A wicked man listens to evil lips; a liar gives ear to a destructive tongue.

Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends.

The one with a perverse heart finds no good, and he whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble.

The words of a gossip are like choice morsels that go down into the inmost being.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

The poor man pleads for mercy, but the rich man answers harshly.

Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a fool whose lips are perverse.

The desire of a man is loving devotion; better to be poor than a liar.

A corrupt witness mocks justice, and a wicked mouth swallows iniquity.

…for their hearts devise violence, and their lips declare trouble.

As the north wind brings forth rain, so a backbiting tongue brings angry looks.

Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases. …

A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.

For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.

If the snake bites before it is charmed, there is no profit for the charmer.

Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich even in your bedroom, for a bird of the air may carry your words, and a winged creature may report your speech.

Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.”

For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the LORD; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.

The weapons of the scoundrel are destructive; he hatches plots to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just.

For I have heard the whispering of many: “Terror is on every side! Report him; let us report him!” All my trusted friends watch for my fall: “Perhaps he will be deceived so that we may prevail against him and take our vengeance upon him.”

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.

Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.

You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. …

“Brothers,” Paul replied, “I was not aware that he was the high priest, for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”

They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,

…slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents.

“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”

“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

…nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.

Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.

Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving.

For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision,

…who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not.

…to malign no one, and to be peaceable and gentle, showing full consideration to everyone.

My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.

In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.

The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

…but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. …

Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it.

Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.

…and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless

…(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—

Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.

Yet in the same way these dreamers defile their bodies, reject authority, and slander glorious beings. …