Lip

Lips (Hebrew saphah; Greek cheilos) in biblical usage frequently stand for speech, language, and the person as a speaking agent. Moses described himself as having "uncircumcised lips" to explain his reluctance as spokesman (Ex. 6:12, 30). Isaiah's vision of divine holiness is resolved when a seraph touches his lips with a live coal: "Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for" (Isa. 6:7) — the organ of speech purified for prophetic service. Proverbs contrasts the "choice silver" of the righteous person's lips (Prov. 10:20–21) with the folly of excessive words (10:19). Paul quotes Isaiah 28:11 — "By people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the LORD will speak to this people" — in his discussion of the sign function of tongues for unbelieving Israel (1 Cor. 14:21).