52:3 You love evil more than good,
lies more than speaking the truth. 1 (Selah)
52:4 You love to use all the words that destroy, 2
and the tongue that deceives.
9:5 One friend deceives another
and no one tells the truth.
These people have trained themselves 3 to tell lies.
They do wrong and are unable to repent.
1 tn Or “deceit more than speaking what is right.”
2 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.
3 tn Heb “their tongues.” However, this is probably not a natural idiom in contemporary English and the tongue may stand as a part for the whole anyway.