Mazmur 12:3

12:3 May the Lord cut off ¹  all flattering lips,

and the tongue that boasts! ² 

Mazmur 28:3

28:3 Do not drag me away with evil men,

with those who behave wickedly, ³ 

who talk so friendly to their neighbors, ⁴ 

while they plan to harm them! ⁵ 

Mazmur 36:4

36:4 He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed;

he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; ⁶ 

he does not reject what is evil. ⁷ 

Amsal 15:4

15:4 Speech ⁸  that heals ⁹  is like ¹⁰  a life-giving tree, ¹¹ 

but a perverse tongue ¹²  breaks the spirit.

Yeremia 9:8

9:8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows. ¹³ 

They are always telling lies. ¹⁴ 

Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths.

But their minds are thinking up ways to trap them. ¹⁵ 

Roma 3:13

3:13 “Their throats are open graves, ¹⁶ 

they deceive with their tongues,

the poison of asps is under their lips.” ¹⁷ 

[12:3]  ¹ tn The verb form is a jussive, indicating that the statement is imprecatory (“May the Lord cut off”), not indicative (“The Lord will cut off”; see also Ps 109:15 and Mal 2:12). The psalmist appeals to God to destroy the wicked, rather than simply stating his confidence that he will. In this way he seeks to activate divine judgment by appealing to God’s just character. For an example of the power of such a curse, see Judg 9:7-57.

[12:3]  ² tn Heb “a tongue speaking great [things].”

[28:3]  ³ tn Heb “workers of wickedness.”

[28:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “speakers of peace with their neighbors.”

[28:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “and evil [is] in their heart[s].”

[36:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “he takes a stand in a way [that is] not good.” The word “way” here refers metaphorically to behavior or life style.

[36:4]  ⁷ tn The three imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 highlight the characteristic behavior of the typical evildoer.

[15:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “a tongue.” The term “tongue” is a metonymy of cause for what is produced: speech.

[15:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “a tongue of healing.” A healing tongue refers to speech that is therapeutic or soothing. It is a source of vitality.

[15:4]  ¹⁰ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[15:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “tree of life.”

[15:4]  ¹² tn Heb “perversion in it.” The referent must be the tongue, so this has been supplied in the translation for clarity. A tongue that is twisted, perverse, or deceitful is a way of describing deceitful speech. Such words will crush the spirit (e.g., Isa 65:14).

[9:8]  ¹³ tc This reading follows the Masoretic consonants (the Kethib, a Qal active participle from שָׁחַט, shakhat). The Masoretes preferred to read “a sharpened arrow” (the Qere, a Qal passive participle from the same root or a homonym, meaning “hammered, beaten”). See HALOT 1354 s.v. II שָׁחַט for discussion. The exact meaning of the word makes little difference to the meaning of the metaphor itself.

[9:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “They speak deceit.”

[9:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “With his mouth a person speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets an ambush for him.”

[3:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “their throat is an opened grave.”

[3:13]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Pss 5:9; 140:3.