Our words can heal or hurt—choose healing words.

“A wholesome tongue is a tree of life:”
This “wholesome tongue is a tree that gives life.”  The Hebrew word translated as “wholesome” means “health, healing, cure”1 (BDB).  Bullinger says it is “gentleness of tongue.”2  Solomon spoke of a “sound heart” being a “healthy heart” in the same way (Proverbs 14:30).

Paul used similar language when he wrote to Timothy and Titus about “words.”

“If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words…” (1 Timothy 6:2).

“Hold fast the form of sound words…” (2 Timothy 1:13).

“Sound speech, that cannot be condemned…” (Titus 2:8).

Gentle, healthy words, a “sound, wholesome tongue” is not only vigorous, but it gives life to others as a fruitful tree is life-giving.

“But perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.”
On the other hand, in the “perverse tongue” is “crookedness, perverseness, crooked dealing”3 (BDB).  This “perverse tongue” is the opposite of “truthfulness, rectitude, [and] kindness.”4  Rather than being “life-giving,” this tongue destroys the lives it affects.  With this crooked mouth comes a “breach in the spirit.”

“An evil tongue is wounding (perverseness, passion, falsehood, and filthiness there, are a breach in the spirit); it wounds the conscience of the evil speaker, and occasions either guilt or grief to the hearers and both are to be reckoned breaches in the spirit”5 (Henry).

How is your tongue, healing, or hurting?  Believers, our words need to be the healing, life-giving kinds of words that our Savior used when He spoke to others in need, even as He spoke to us in our need.

1.  Brown, Driver, Briggs. Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
2.  E.W. Bullinger, The Companion Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
3.  BDB, ibid.
4.  Keil & Delitzsch, Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, the electronic version in eSword.
5.  Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, the electronic version in eSword.