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NASB | Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God (Elohim) created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth. [Heb 11:3] |
Bible Question:
Does anyone have any insight concerning the meaning of Proverbs 18:21? It is being commonly used to mean"what you say is what You get" Is this the correct context for the particular verse? |
Bible Answer: It is helpful to look at the previous verse, and to see the way that the topic is treated in the rest of Proverbs and the rest of the Bible. It may also help to look at the verse in another translation. Those who love to talk will experience the consequences, for the tongue can kill or nourish life (NLT). A man may do a great deal of good, or a great deal of hurt, both to others and to himself, according to the use he makes of his tongue (Matthew Henry). Our words can destroy others or build them up, and those who love to talk will see those results (Aixen). This passage does not encourage the strange idea that we can speak things into existence. (Take Job 29:18 into chapter 30. Read Luke 12:19,20). Rather it is an encouragement for us to speak words that are helpful, and a warning to be careful how we speak to each other, because words can also hurt. In context, it goes with the previous verse: Words satisfy the soul (just) as food satisfies the stomach (NLT). Therefore, Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Sometimes a man can feel that his soul is among lions: that he is among beasts that are set on fire; even though they are actually people, their teeth may appear as spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword (Psalm 57:4). And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell (James). There are some who speak like the piercings of a sword. A lying tongue reveals hate toward those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth works ruin (Solomon). The mouth and the tongue can wreak havoc on a person’s spirit. On the other hand, the tongue of the just is as choice silver, and a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. The lips of the righteous feed many, and the tongue of the wise brings health (to the spirit). A wholesome tongue is a tree of life. How much good we can bring to the inner man of another man by the things that we say! With our mouth and our tongue we can bring blessings. By looking at other verses that talk about the tongue, we can see all these things. I know that whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from distresses, and one always takes a chance in that way when one speaks. It is therefore often wise to be silent. But one may also dare to speak and to try to be a blessing. If we are careful with our words, we can bring life instead of death, with our tongue. |