Psalms 141:3
Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.
BSB
ASV
Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth; Keep the door of my lips.
KJV
Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
Set, O Lord, a guard to my mouth. 'Death and life are in the hands of the tongue.' And again: 'Amen I say to you, that for every idle word which you have spoken, you shall render an account on the day of judgment.' This therefore the prophet asks, that everything he speaks may not be idle, but holy and worthy of God. And set a door of enclosure to my lips. He asks for a door of enclosure like a wall around the whole house, so that he may be overcome in nothing.
Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth. That mouth had been used in prayer, it would be a pity it should ever be defiled with untruth, or pride, or wrath; yet so it will become unless carefully watched, for these intruders are ever lurking about the door. David feels that with all his own watchfulness he may be surprised into sin, and so he begs the Lord himself to keep him. When Jehovah sets the watch the city is well guarded: when the Lord becomes the guard of our mouth the whole man is well garrisoned.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
James 1:26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.
leads to
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech.
Reached by 3 independent paths from here.
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.
Through
James 3:2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.
leads to
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.
Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.
Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.
For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Through
Psalms 39:1I said, “I will watch my ways so that I will not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle as long as the wicked are present.”
leads to
He who guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from distress.
Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
Micah 7:5Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.
leads to
“Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander.