What Does the Bible Say About Being Slow To Speak?

James 1:19 ESV / 71 helpful votes

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

James 1:19-27 ESV / 52 helpful votes

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ...

James 3:1-18 ESV / 44 helpful votes

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ...

Proverbs 13:3 ESV / 36 helpful votes

Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

Proverbs 17:28 ESV / 26 helpful votes

Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Proverbs 10:19 ESV / 24 helpful votes

When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

Ephesians 4:29 ESV / 22 helpful votes

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Proverbs 15:1 ESV / 22 helpful votes

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Ecclesiastes 3:7 ESV / 20 helpful votes

A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

James 1:19-20 ESV / 19 helpful votes

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Colossians 4:6 ESV / 16 helpful votes

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV / 16 helpful votes

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

Proverbs 17:27 ESV / 15 helpful votes

Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Matthew 5:21-22 ESV / 13 helpful votes

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Proverbs 29:5 ESV / 12 helpful votes

A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

1 Peter 2:23 ESV / 11 helpful votes

When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

James 1:26 ESV / 10 helpful votes

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

Ephesians 4:26 ESV / 10 helpful votes

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

1 Peter 2:1-25 ESV / 9 helpful votes

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ...

James 4:1-17 ESV / 9 helpful votes

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? ...

Proverbs 16:32 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

Matthew 12:34 ESV / 8 helpful votes

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

James 2:2 ESV / 7 helpful votes

For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,

Hebrews 4:12 ESV / 7 helpful votes

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV / 7 helpful votes

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Proverbs 17:14 ESV / 7 helpful votes

The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

Psalm 119:97 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.

Psalm 4:4 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

James 3:1 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

James 1:22 ESV / 6 helpful votes

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

1 Timothy 2:1-15 ESV / 6 helpful votes

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ...

Matthew 17:5 ESV / 6 helpful votes

He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Ecclesiastes 5:2 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.

James 3:2 ESV / 4 helpful votes

For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

Colossians 3:8 ESV / 4 helpful votes

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Mark 7:1-37 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” ...

Proverbs 29:20 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Proverbs 21:23 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Proverbs 19:11 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

Proverbs 18:21 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Proverbs 18:13 ESV / 4 helpful votes

If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.

Numbers 9:8 ESV / 4 helpful votes

And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”

James 1:27 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

James 1:21 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

James 1:19-25 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ...

1 Corinthians 9:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes

For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

Luke 24:25 ESV / 3 helpful votes

And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

Matthew 28:19-20 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 13:9 ESV / 3 helpful votes

He who has ears, let him hear.”

Psalm 19:1-14 ESV / 3 helpful votes

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. ...

50 Bible Verses about Being Slow To Speak

James 1:19 ESV / 71 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 1:19-27 ESV / 52 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 3:1-18 ESV / 44 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 13:3 ESV / 36 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 17:28 ESV / 26 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 10:19 ESV / 24 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 4:29 ESV / 22 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 15:1 ESV / 22 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ecclesiastes 3:7 ESV / 20 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 1:19-20 ESV / 19 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Colossians 4:6 ESV / 16 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV / 16 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 17:27 ESV / 15 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:21-22 ESV / 13 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 29:5 ESV / 12 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Peter 2:23 ESV / 11 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 1:26 ESV / 10 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 4:26 ESV / 10 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Peter 2:1-25 ESV / 9 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 4:1-17 ESV / 9 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 16:32 ESV / 9 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 12:34 ESV / 8 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 2:2 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Hebrews 4:12 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 17:14 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 119:97 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 4:4 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 3:1 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 1:22 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Timothy 2:1-15 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 17:5 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ecclesiastes 5:2 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 3:2 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Colossians 3:8 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 7:1-37 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 29:20 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 21:23 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 19:11 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 18:21 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 18:13 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Numbers 9:8 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 1:27 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 1:21 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 1:19-25 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 9:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 24:25 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 28:19-20 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 13:9 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 19:1-14 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

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