Bible Strands
Proverbs 10:19
When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The wise teacher addresses a general audience within a collection of contrasting proverbs that juxtapose the outcomes of foolish and righteous conduct.
The words — חֹשֵׂ֖ךְ (cho.Sekh) translates literally as "restrains," and מַשְׂכִּֽיל (mas.Kil) denotes one "acting prudently" or demonstrating practical wisdom.
The thread — This theme of speech restraint recurs in Proverbs 17:27, which links restrained words to knowledge and calmness, and in James 1:19 and James 3:2, which command believers to be slow to speak and note that tongue control reflects complete self-mastery.
Why it lands — The text demands deliberate verbal restraint to prevent transgression and proves that wisdom manifests through controlled speech rather than unchecked verbosity.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.
Cross-references
- James 1:19 My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
- Proverbs 17:27 A man of knowledge restrains his words, and a man of understanding maintains a calm spirit.
- James 3:2 We 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.
- Ecclesiastes 10:13 The beginning of his talk is folly, and the end of his speech is evil madness.
- Ecclesiastes 5:3 As a dream comes through many cares, so the speech of a fool comes with many words.
- Psalms 39:1 For the choirmaster. For Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I 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.”