TO MUZZLE — literally, to put a muzzle on an animal; Paul quotes the law about not muzzling a threshing ox with this verb (1 Corinthians 9:9). ⚠ Matthew uses it twice in one chapter and the pairing is deliberate: the man with no wedding garment 'ephimōthē' (22:12), and then the Pharisees hear that Jesus 'ephimōsen the Sadducees' (22:34). Same verb, same chapter — one silenced by a question he cannot answer, the others silenced by an argument. The shelf reaches for abstractions (KJV 'was speechless' / 'put to silence,' NIV 'was silent'), which are accurate and lose the animal. It is also what Jesus says to the storm in Mark 4:39 — 'be muzzled' — and to demons. → first discussed at Matt 22:12