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Those who guard their mouths preserve themselves;[a]
    those who open wide their lips bring ruin.(A)
The appetite of the sluggard craves but has nothing,
    but the appetite of the diligent is amply satisfied.
The just hate deceitful words,
    but the wicked are odious and disgraceful.

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Footnotes

  1. 13:3 Preserve themselves: in Hebrew, literally to preserve the throat area, the moist breathing center of one’s body, thus “life,” “soul,” or “self.” There is wordplay: if you guard your mouth (= words) you guard your “soul.” Fools, on the other hand, do not guard but open their lips and disaster strikes. A near duplicate is 21:23.

Those who guard their lips(A) preserve their lives,(B)
    but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.(C)

A sluggard’s appetite is never filled,(D)
    but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

The righteous hate what is false,(E)
    but the wicked make themselves a stench
    and bring shame on themselves.

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