'Mouth' in the Bible

And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s [shed] blood from your hand.

The dove came back to him in the evening, and there, in her beak, was a fresh olive leaf. So Noah knew that the water level had subsided from the earth.

As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and three flocks of sheep lying there [resting] beside it because the flocks were watered from that well. Now the stone on the mouth of the well [that covered and protected it] was large,

and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well, water the sheep, and [afterward] replace the stone on the mouth of the well.

But they said, “We cannot [leave] until all the flocks are gathered together, and the shepherds roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we will water the sheep.”

When Jacob saw [his cousin] Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and Laban’s sheep, he came up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban, his uncle.

And at the lodging place, as one of them opened his sack to feed his donkey, he saw his money in the opening of his sack.

Take double the [amount of] money with you, and take back the money that was returned in the opening of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight.

and when we arrived at the inn [after leaving here], we opened our sacks and there was each man’s money [with which he had paid for grain], in full, returned in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back [this time].

And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s [grain] money in the mouth of the sack.

Put my [personal] cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his grain money.” And the steward did as Joseph had told him.

The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, or the seeing or the blind? Is it not I, the Lord?

Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and will teach you what you shall say.”

You must speak to him and put the words in his mouth; I, even I, will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do.

It shall serve as a sign to you on your hand (arm), and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the instruction (law) of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a strong and powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.

Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; do not mention the name of other gods [either in a blessing or in a curse]; do not let such speech be heard [coming] from your mouth.

“With him I speak mouth to mouth [directly],Clearly and openly and not in riddles;And he beholds the form of the Lord.Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?”

But if the Lord creates an entirely new thing, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up, along with all that belongs to them, and they descend alive into Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), then you will understand that these men have spurned and rejected the Lord!”

and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all the men who supported Korah, with all their possessions.

And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have struck me these three times?”

So Balaam said to Balak, “Indeed I have come to you now, but am I able to say anything at all? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I shall speak.”

Then the Lord put a speech in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus.”

Balaam answered, “Must I not be obedient and careful to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”

Then the Lord met Balaam and put a speech in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak and you shall speak thus.”

and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up along with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, so that they became a [warning] sign.

If a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to bind himself with a pledge [of abstinence], he shall not break (violate, profane) his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

He humbled you and allowed you to be hungry and fed you with manna, [a substance] which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, so that He might make you understand [by personal experience] that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.

and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel.

I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

You shall be careful to perform that [vow] which passes your lips, just as you have made a voluntary vow to the Lord your God, just as you have promised with your own words (mouth).

But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may obey it.

“Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be successful.

But Joshua commanded the people, “You shall not shout [the battle cry] nor let your voice be heard nor let a word come out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout!”

Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and assign men by it to guard them,

Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring out to me those five [Amorite] kings from the cave.”

At sunset Joshua gave a command, and they took the bodies down from the trees and threw them into the cave where the kings had hidden themselves, and placed large stones over the mouth of the cave, [where they remain] to this very day.

The eastern border was the Salt (Dead) Sea, as far as the mouth of the Jordan. The northern border was from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan.

Now the number of those who lapped [the water], putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men, but all the rest of the people kneeled down to drink water.

Then Zebul said to Gaal, “Where is your [boasting] mouth now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Is this not the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them!”

And when he saw her, he tore his clothes [in grief] and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me great disaster, and you are the cause of ruin to me; for I have made a vow to the Lord, and I cannot take it back.”

And she said to him, “My father, you have made a vow to the Lord; do to me as you have vowed, since the Lord has taken vengeance for you on your enemies, the Ammonites.”

They said to him, “Keep quiet, put your hand over your mouth and come with us, and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be a priest to a tribe and family in Israel?”

Now it happened as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth.

Hannah prayed and said,“My heart rejoices and triumphs in the Lord;My horn (strength) is lifted up in the Lord,My mouth has opened wide [to speak boldly] against my enemies,Because I rejoice in Your salvation.

“Do not go on boasting so very proudly,Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;For the Lord is a God of knowledge,And by Him actions are weighed (examined).

But Jonathan had not heard when his father put the people under the oath. So he put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it into a honeycomb, and then he put his hand to his mouth, and his energy was restored.

I went out after it and attacked it and rescued the lamb from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I seized it by its whiskers and struck and killed it.

But Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, responded, “Do not let my lord assume that all the king’s sons have been put to death; for only Amnon is dead. This act of revenge has been on Absalom’s mind since the day Amnon violated his sister Tamar.

The king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all of this?” And the woman answered, “As your soul lives, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king has said. Indeed, it was your servant Joab who commanded me; he put all these words in the mouth of your maidservant.

And the woman [of the house] took a covering and spread it over the mouth of the well and scattered grain on it; so nothing was discovered.

“Smoke went up out of His nostrils,And devouring fire from His mouth;Coals were kindled by it.

Its opening inside the crown at the top measured a cubit, and its opening was round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half. Also on its opening were carvings, and their borders were square, not round.

He said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled it with His hand, saying,

You who have kept what You promised to Your servant my father David. You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled Your word with Your hand, as it is this day.

Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

Yet I will leave 7,000 [survivors] in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Then he went up and lay on the child and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself out on him and held him, the boy’s skin became warm.

And he said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled with His hands what He promised, saying,

[You] who have kept Your promise to Your servant David, my father, that which You told him; You have spoken with Your mouth and have fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is today.

Yet Josiah would not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight against him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight against him on the plain of Megiddo.

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia—in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah—the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia [that is, the first year he ruled Babylon], in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah [the prophet], the Lord stirred up (put in motion) the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

“But God saves [the innocent] from the sword of the mouth of the devious,And the poor from the hand of the mighty.

“So the helpless have hope,And injustice shuts its mouth.

“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;I will speak in the anguish of my spirit,I will complain in the bitterness of my soul [O Lord].

“How long will you say these things?And will the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

“He will yet fill your mouth with laughterAnd your lips with joyful shouting [if you are found blameless].

“Though I am innocent and in the right, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty;Though I am blameless, He would denounce me as guilty.

“Does the ear not put words to the test,Just as the palate tastes its food [distinguishing between the desirable and the undesirable]?

“For your guilt teaches your mouth,And you choose [to speak] the language of the crafty and cunning.

“Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;Yes, your own lips testify against you.

That you should turn your spirit against GodAnd let such words [as you have spoken] go out of your mouth?

“He will not escape from darkness [fleeing disaster];The flame [of God’s wrath] will wither his branch,And by the blast of His mouth he will go away.

“[But instead] I could strengthen and encourage you with [the words of] my mouth,And the consolation and solace of my lips would soothe your suffering and lessen your anguish.

“Though evil and wickedness are sweet in his mouthAnd he hides it under his tongue,

Though he desires it and will not let it goBut holds it in his mouth,

“Look at me and be astonished and appalled;And put your hand over your mouth.

“Please receive the law and instruction from His mouthAnd establish His words in your heart and keep them.

“I would present my cause before HimAnd fill my mouth with arguments.

“I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;I have kept the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

And my heart became secretly enticed [by them],And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth [in respect to them],

“No, I have not allowed my mouth to sinBy cursing my enemy and asking for his life.

“Behold, I have opened my mouth [to begin my speech];My tongue in my mouth is going to speak.

Job uselessly opens his mouthAnd multiplies words without knowledge [drawing the worthless conclusion that the righteous have no more advantage than the wicked].”

“Then indeed, He enticed you from the mouth of distress and confinement,Into a broad place where there is no constraint or distress;And that which was set on your table was full of fatness (rich food).

“Listen carefully to the thunder of His voice,And the rumbling that goes out of His mouth!

“Behold, I am of little importance and contemptible; what can I reply to You?I lay my hand on my mouth.

“If a river rages and overflows, he does not tremble;He is confident, though the Jordan [River] swells and rushes against his mouth.

“Who can open the doors (jaws) of his face?Around his [open jaws and] teeth there is terror.

“Out of his mouth go burning torches,And sparks of fire leap out.

“His breath kindles coals,And a flame goes forth from his mouth.

His mouth is full of curses and deceit (fraud) and oppression;Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness [injustice and sin].

You have tried my heart;You have visited me in the night;You have tested me and You find nothing [evil in me];I intend that my mouth will not transgress.

Smoke went up from His nostrils,And fire from His mouth devoured;Coals were kindled by it.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heartBe acceptable and pleasing in Your sight,O Lord, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer.

Save me from the lion’s mouth;From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,And all their host by the breath of His mouth.

I will bless the Lord at all times;His praise shall continually be in my mouth.