A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
KJV
Parallel translations
4 additional translations▾
Parallel translations
4 additional translationsASV
A gentle tongue is a tree of life; But perverseness therein is a breaking of the spirit.
WEB
A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.
YLT
A healed tongue is a tree of life, And perverseness in it--a breach in the spirit.
DBT
Gentleness of tongue is a tree of life; but crookedness therein is a breaking of the spirit.
About this book
Old Testament▾
About this book
Old TestamentProverbs — Gnomic wisdom — sayings, instructions, and the binary of wisdom vs. folly. Fear of the LORD as the integrative theme; the virtuous woman of Prov 31 as the book's closing portrait of wisdom embodied.
- Author
- Solomon principally (1:1; chs 10–22:16 and 25–29 explicitly); Agur (ch 30); Lemuel's mother (ch 31:1–9); editorial compilation by Hezekiah's men (25:1).
- Date
- Solomon's reign c. 970–930 BC; Hezekiah's editorial layer c. 715–687 BC.