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19 When words abound, transgression is inevitable,[a]
but the one who restrains[b] his words[c] is wise.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:19 tn Heb “does not cease.” It is impossible to avoid sinning in an abundance of words—sooner or later one is bound to say something wrong.
  2. Proverbs 10:19 tn Or “holds his lips under control.” The verb חָשַׂךְ (khasakh) means “to withhold; to restrain; to hold in check” (BDB 362 s.v.). The related Arabic term is used in reference to placing a piece of wood in the mouth of a goat to prevent it from sucking (HALOT 359 s.v. חשׂךְ).
  3. Proverbs 10:19 tn Heb “his lips” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “his tongue.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause for speech.