He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: [but] he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
Ver. 3. He that keepeth his mouth.] As the guard keepeth the gates in a siege. God hath set a double guard of lips and teeth before this gate, and yet, unless he himself set the watch, and keep the door, all will be lost. Psa 141:3
But he that openeth wide his lips.] As she did her feet, to "multiply her whoredoms." Eze 16:25 Kεχηνοτες, gaping mouthed men are noted for fools by Lucian and Aristophanes. An open mouth is a purgatory to the master, say we. And cave ne feriat lingua tua collum tuum, a say the Arabians in their proverb, Take heed that thy tongue cut not thy throat.
a Scalig. Arab. Prov., cent. 1. pro 75.