Colossians 4:6
“Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
King James Version (KJV)
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In his closing exhortations about prayer and witness toward outsiders, Paul addresses the believer's everyday speech, urging gracious, wise, well-chosen words fitted to each listener.
What Does Colossians 4:6 Mean?
Paul instructs believers to let all their speech be gracious and tasteful, so they are ready to answer each person with wisdom. The phrase "alway with grace" sets the constant tone of a Christian's words: they should be marked by kindness, winsomeness, and the same grace the speaker has received. This is not occasional politeness but a settled manner of speaking that adorns the gospel rather than contradicting it.
Then comes a memorable image: "seasoned with salt." In the ancient world salt both preserved and gave flavor. Speech "seasoned with salt" is speech that is not bland or insipid but tasteful, interesting, and wholesome -- words that carry savor and keep conversation from spoiling into the unwholesome or the foolish. Paul's goal is practical: "that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." Gracious, well-seasoned speech equips a believer to respond rightly to each individual, with discernment fitted to the person and the moment. Notice that Paul says "every man," each one in his own situation. This calls for attentiveness, not a single rehearsed reply. Coming just after his words about prayer and witness, this verse shows that how we speak is itself part of our testimony -- the daily conversations in which grace becomes audible.
In the Original Language
The Greek "chariti" (with grace) means graciousness or favor, lending the idea of winsome, kind speech. "Halati ērtymenos" (seasoned with salt) draws on salt's role as both preservative and flavor, picturing speech that is tasteful and wholesome.
Cross References
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
- Ephesians 4:29
“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”
- Proverbs 15:1
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”
- 1 Peter 3:15
Application
Aim to make your everyday words consistently gracious and thoughtfully chosen, so you are ready to respond wisely and winsomely to each particular person you meet.