Bible Strands
Proverbs 10:20
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked has little worth.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author of Proverbs addresses students and young men with a series of paired contrasts between righteous and wicked conduct. This verse appears in a chapter contrasting the outcomes of wise speech and foolish living.
The words — נִבְחָר (Niv.chor) translates literally as "chosen," describing the tongue of the righteous as refined silver. מְעַט (m.'At) means "little," indicating the heart of the wicked holds minimal worth.
The thread — The contrast between speech and inner character echoes Proverbs 12:18, which contrasts rash words with the healing tongue of the wise. Jeremiah 17:9 warns that the heart is inherently deceitful, while Genesis 6:5 documents the pervasive corruption of the wicked heart.
Why it lands — The text demands a direct evaluation of one's speech as either refined and valuable or worthless. It requires the reader to align their inner moral state with righteousness rather than accept the inherent worthlessness of a wicked heart.
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
The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.
Cross-references
- Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
- Proverbs 12:18 Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
- Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
- Proverbs 15:4 A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.
- Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
- Genesis 8:21 When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.
- Proverbs 8:19 My fruit is better than gold, pure gold, and my harvest surpasses choice silver.
- Proverbs 16:13 Righteous lips are a king’s delight, and he who speaks honestly is beloved.
- Proverbs 23:7 for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
- Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.