^34 (A)Brood^[a] of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? ^(B)For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

^45 (A)A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil ^[a]treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out ^(B)of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

¹⁸ But ^(A)those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.

^29 (A)Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but ^(B)what is good for necessary ^[a]edification, ^(C)that it may impart grace to the hearers.

⁵ Even so ^(A)the tongue is a little member and ^(B)boasts great things.

See how great a forest a little fire kindles! ⁶ And ^(C)the tongue is a fire, a world of ^[a]iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it ^(D)defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of ^[b]nature; and it is set on fire by ^[c]hell. ⁷ For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. ⁸ But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, ^(E)full of deadly poison.

The Imperative of Love^(A)

¹⁰ In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

¹³ As the proverb of the ancients says, ^(A)‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you.

³⁵ A good man out of the good treasure ^[a]of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

^44 (A)You are of your father the devil, and the ^(B)desires of your father you want to ^(C)do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and ^(D)does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.