The Mouth Sword

(Proverbs 5:4 KJV)  But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.

If you look up the uses of “two-edged” (6310) “sword” (2719) you will find it is only used twice in the OT and three times in the NT.  That doesn’t seem like much for such a well known term.  Even more startling is that a literal translation is “mouth sword”.  In context here that seems very appropriate because the woman portrayed here is doing much of her damage with her mouth.  In the end it might be said that her mouth is sending her to hell.

So?  I guess it is simple:  Watch your mouth.  As believers we are readily tempted into gossip and idle chatter.  In a world of declining politeness we are also desensitized to the growing vulgarity and crudeness of speech.  I am not sure that an occasional four letter word will send us to hell but it is an indication of our focus.  So, watch your mouth.