What Does the Bible Say About When To Be Silent?

Proverbs 17:28 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Psalm 46:10 ESV / 6 helpful votes

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

1 Corinthians 14:34 ESV / 5 helpful votes

The women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says.

1 Timothy 2:12 ESV / 4 helpful votes

I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.

1 Corinthians 11:5 ESV / 4 helpful votes

But every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.

Revelation 8:1 ESV / 3 helpful votes

When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

James 1:19 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Ephesians 5:25 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

1 Corinthians 14:34-35 ESV / 3 helpful votes

The women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

1 Corinthians 11:3 ESV / 3 helpful votes

But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.

Matthew 6:6 ESV / 3 helpful votes

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Lamentations 3:26 ESV / 3 helpful votes

It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Proverbs 29:11 ESV / 3 helpful votes

A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.

Proverbs 11:12 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.

Proverbs 10:19 ESV / 3 helpful votes

When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

Psalm 62:5 ESV / 3 helpful votes

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

Psalm 37:7 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

Job 13:5 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Oh that you would keep silent, and it would be your wisdom!

Genesis 3:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes

To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”

1 Peter 3:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives,

Hebrews 12:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

1 Timothy 2:11-12 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

Philippians 4:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Ephesians 5:33 ESV / 2 helpful votes

However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Ephesians 5:22 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

Galatians 3:28 ESV / 2 helpful votes

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 14:35 ESV / 2 helpful votes

If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

1 Corinthians 14:21 ESV / 2 helpful votes

In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ...

1 Corinthians 11:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered?

Romans 12:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Romans 11:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.

Romans 3:23 ESV / 2 helpful votes

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?

Acts 21:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes

He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied.

Acts 2:17 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;

John 15:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

John 3:16-17 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Mark 11:25 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Mark 4:39 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Matthew 26:63 ESV / 2 helpful votes

But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

Matthew 12:24-26 ESV / 2 helpful votes

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

Matthew 11:15 ESV / 2 helpful votes

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 6:14-15 ESV / 2 helpful votes

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 6:1-34 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ...

Habakkuk 2:20 ESV / 2 helpful votes

But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”

Isaiah 53:7 ESV / 2 helpful votes

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

Isaiah 53:1-12 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. ...

Isaiah 1:1-31 ESV / 2 helpful votes

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. ...

Proverbs 18:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes

If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.

Proverbs 12:23 ESV / 2 helpful votes

A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.

Proverbs 10:12 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

Psalm 119:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.

Psalm 62:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.

Psalm 46:1-11 ESV / 2 helpful votes

To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. ...

Psalm 23:1-6 ESV / 2 helpful votes

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ...

Psalm 4:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

Job 29:21 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“Men listened to me and waited and kept silence for my counsel.

1 Kings 19:11-12 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.

1 Samuel 2:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail.

Exodus 14:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes

The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

64 Bible Verses about When To Be Silent

Proverbs 17:28 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 46:10 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 14:34 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Timothy 2:12 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 11:5 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Revelation 8:1 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 1:19 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 5:25 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 14:34-35 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 11:3 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 6:6 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Lamentations 3:26 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 29:11 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 11:12 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 10:19 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 62:5 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 37:7 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Job 13:5 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 3:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Peter 3:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Hebrews 12:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Timothy 2:11-12 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Philippians 4:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 5:33 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 5:22 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Galatians 3:28 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 14:35 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 14:21 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 11:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 12:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 11:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 3:23 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 3:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Acts 21:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Acts 2:17 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 15:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 3:16-17 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 3:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 11:25 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 4:39 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 26:63 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 12:24-26 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 11:15 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 6:14-15 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 6:1-34 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Habakkuk 2:20 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Isaiah 53:7 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Isaiah 53:1-12 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Isaiah 1:1-31 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 18:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 12:23 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 10:12 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 119:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 62:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 46:1-11 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 23:1-6 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 4:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Job 29:21 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Kings 19:11-12 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Samuel 2:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Exodus 14:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

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