- English translation
When God rejects someone, their own speech turns people against them.
- Literal wording
Whomever our Lord dislikes, He sets that person's tongue against them.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying warns that a person’s own hostile speech can bring about their social undoing. In its religious framing, this consequence is attributed to divine will, while its practical point is that disparagement breeds resentment.
It presents abusive or vilifying talk as a moral affliction: repeated insults create enemies through the speaker’s own conduct. The proverb urges restraint and awareness that words can have serious social consequences.
- When it is used
Used as a caution about someone whose sharp, insulting, or malicious talk alienates others. It may be said after repeated verbal attacks have caused widespread resentment, stressing that the speaker has brought this hostility upon themselves.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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