Mazmur 50:19-20

50:19 You do damage with words, ¹ 

and use your tongue to deceive. ² 

50:20 You plot against your brother; ³ 

you slander your own brother. ⁴ 

Mazmur 52:2-4

52:2 Your tongue carries out your destructive plans; ⁵ 

it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver. ⁶ 

52:3 You love evil more than good,

lies more than speaking the truth. ⁷  (Selah)

52:4 You love to use all the words that destroy, ⁸ 

and the tongue that deceives.

Mazmur 64:3

64:3 They ⁹  sharpen their tongues like a sword;

they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge, ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 120:2-3

120:2 I said, ¹¹  “O Lord, rescue me ¹² 

from those who lie with their lips ¹³ 

and those who deceive with their tongue. ¹⁴ 

120:3 How will he severely punish you,

you deceptive talker? ¹⁵ 

[50:19]  ¹ tn Heb “your mouth you send with evil.”

[50:19]  ² tn Heb “and your tongue binds together [i.e., “frames”] deceit.”

[50:20]  ³ tn Heb “you sit, against your brother you speak.” To “sit” and “speak” against someone implies plotting against that person (see Ps 119:23).

[50:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “against the son of your mother you give a fault.”

[52:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “destruction your tongue devises.”

[52:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “like a sharpened razor, doer of deceit.” The masculine participle עָשָׂה (’asah) is understood as a substantival vocative, addressed to the powerful man.

[52:3]  ⁷ tn Or “deceit more than speaking what is right.”

[52:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “you love all the words of swallowing.” Traditionally בַּלַּע (bala’) has been taken to mean “swallowing” in the sense of “devouring” or “destructive” (see BDB 118 s.v. בָּלַע). HALOT 135 s.v. III *בֶּלַע proposes a homonym here, meaning “confusion.” This would fit the immediate context nicely and provide a close parallel to the following line, which refers to deceptive words.

[64:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[64:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a bitter word.”

[120:2]  ¹¹ tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the introductory note for this psalm.

[120:2]  ¹² tn Or “my life.”

[120:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “from a lip of falsehood.”

[120:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from a tongue of deception.”

[120:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “What will he give to you, and what will he add to you, O tongue of deception?” The psalmist addresses his deceptive enemies. The Lord is the understood subject of the verbs “give” and “add.” The second part of the question echoes a standard curse formula, “thus the Lord/God will do … and thus he will add” (see Ruth 1:17; 1 Sam 3:17; 14:44; 20:13; 25:22; 2 Sam 3:9, 35; 19:13; 1 Kgs 2:23; 2 Kgs 6:31).