Proverbs 4:24

4:24 Remove perverse speech ¹  from your mouth; ² 

keep devious talk far from your lips. ³ 

[4:24]  ¹ tn Heb “crookedness.” The noun עִקְּשׁוּת (’iqqÿshut) refers to what is morally twisted or perverted. Here it refers to things that are said (cf. NAB “dishonest talk”; NRSV “crooked speech”). The term “mouth” functions as a metonymy of cause for perverse speech. Such perverse talking could be subtle or blatant.

[4:24]  ² tn Heb “crookedness of mouth.”

[4:24]  ³ tn Heb “deviousness of lips put far from you.”