If the snake bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage in a charmer.
See, I am letting snakes loose among you, adders that cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you, says the Lord.
And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of life, and is itself set on fire by hell.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows,
you are plotting destruction. Your tongue is like a sharp razor, you worker of treachery.
but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
If the iron is blunt and one does not whet the edge, then more strength must be exerted, but wisdom helps one to succeed.
O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!