Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
What does Proverbs 18:21 mean?
Many a one has caused his own death, or the death of others, by a false or injurious tongue.
Key themes
Read with
Keep this verse inside Proverbs 18:20-21 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Proverbs 18:21
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,.... Of witnesses, according to the testimony they bear; of judges, according to the sentence they pass; of teachers, according to the doctrine they preach; of all men, who, by their well or ill speaking, bring death or life to themselves and others.
Key words
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Death and life are in the power of the tongue,.
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Death and life are in the power of the tongue,.
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Death and life are in the power of the tongue,.
Context in Proverbs 18
Show chapter context
Proverbs 18 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as sayings of the wise. Proverbs offers compact instruction on speech, work, wealth, friendship, sex, discipline, justice, and wisdom as a way of life before God. Read this chapter with the wider themes of wisdom, fear of the Lord, and speech in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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