This saying advises people to be careful or cautious in what they say. On this theme see also 13.3. Scott suggests that this may be a developed form of a popular rhyming proverb.

“He who keeps his mouth and his tongue”: The Hebrew verb “keeps” can mean “watches,” “observes,” or “guards.” “His mouth and his tongue” is figurative language for “his speech” or “what he says.” The whole line therefore means “be careful what you say” (Good News Translation).

“Keeps himself out of trouble”: This line begins with the same form of the same word as the first line, literally “the one keeping.” The word is used in a slightly different sense in this line, “protecting” or “preserving” (as in 13.3). “Himself” renders the idiomatic Hebrew “his soul.” The word “trouble” is plural in Hebrew and, as in 11.8, has the sense of “disaster” or “distress.” Toy suggests that the “troubles” referred to are probably legal and social difficulties resulting from unwise talk. In English “keep out of trouble” is such a well-known and colloquial expression that a number of versions use it. Other good ways of expressing the line are “keeps . . . safe from disaster” (New Jerusalem Bible) and “saves himself from many trials” (Scott).

In some languages this whole saying is best expressed using an “if” construction; for example, “If a person watches his words well, he won’t find himself in trouble” or “If you don’t want trouble to get you, you must watch what you say” (see Good News Translation).

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .