Mazmur 10:7

10:7 His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words; ¹ 

his tongue injures and destroys. ² 

Mazmur 140:3

140:3 Their tongues wound like a serpent; ³ 

a viper’s ⁴  venom is behind ⁵  their lips. (Selah)

[10:7]  ¹ tn Heb “[with] a curse his mouth is full, and lies and injury.”

[10:7]  ² tn Heb “under his tongue are destruction and wickedness.” The words translated “destruction and wickedness” are also paired in Ps 90:10. They also appear in proximity in Pss 7:14 and 55:10.

[140:3]  ³ tn Heb “they sharpen their tongue like a serpent.” Ps 64:3 reads, “they sharpen their tongues like sword.” Perhaps Ps 140:3 uses a mixed metaphor, the point being that “they sharpen their tongues [like a sword],” as it were, so that when they speak, their words wound like a serpent’s bite. Another option is that the language refers to the pointed or forked nature of a serpent’s tongue, which is viewed metaphorically as “sharpened.”

[140:3]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.

[140:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “under.”