Discovery BoxJeremiah 9:3
Context“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.
Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. 2
They have become powerful in the land,
but they have not done so by honest means. 3
Indeed, they do one evil thing after another 4
and do not pay attention to me. 5
Jeremiah 9:5
Context9:5 One friend deceives another
and no one tells the truth.
These people have trained themselves 6 to tell lies.
They do wrong and are unable to repent.
Psalms 12:2
Context12:2 People lie to one another; 7
they flatter and deceive. 8
Psalms 57:4
Context57:4 I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down 9 among those who want to devour me; 10
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are a sharp sword. 11
Psalms 64:3-4
Context64:3 They 12 sharpen their tongues like a sword;
they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge, 13
64:4 in order to shoot down the innocent 14 in secluded places.
They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation. 15
Psalms 64:8
Context64:8 Their slander will bring about their demise. 16
All who see them will shudder, 17
Psalms 120:3
Context120:3 How will he severely punish you,
you deceptive talker? 18
[9:3] 1 tn The words “The
[9:3] 2 tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”
[9:3] 3 tn Heb “but not through honesty.”
[9:3] 4 tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”
[9:3] 5 tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).
[9:5] 6 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.
[12:2] 7 tn Heb “falsehood they speak, a man with his neighbor.” The imperfect verb forms in v. 2 describe what is typical in the psalmist’s experience.
[12:2] 8 tn Heb “[with] a lip of smoothness, with a heart and a heart they speak.” Speaking a “smooth” word refers to deceptive flattery (cf. Ps 5:9; 55:21; Prov 2:16; 5:3; 7:5, 21; 26:28; 28:23; Isa 30:10). “Heart” here refers to their mind, from which their motives and intentions originate. The repetition of the noun indicates diversity (see GKC 396 §123.f, IBHS 116 §7.2.3c, and Deut 25:13, where the phrase “weight and a weight” refers to two different measuring weights). These people have two different types of “hearts.” Their flattering words seem to express kind motives and intentions, but this outward display does not really reflect their true motives. Their real “heart” is filled with evil thoughts and destructive intentions. The “heart” that is seemingly displayed through their words is far different from the real “heart” they keep disguised. (For the idea see Ps 28:3.) In 1 Chr 12:33 the phrase “without a heart and a heart” means “undivided loyalty.”
[57:4] 9 tn The cohortative form אֶשְׁכְּבָה (’eshkÿvah, “I lie down”) is problematic, for it does not seem to carry one of the normal functions of the cohortative (resolve or request). One possibility is that the form here is a “pseudo-cohortative” used here in a gnomic sense (IBHS 576-77 §34.5.3b).
[57:4] 10 tn The Hebrew verb לָהַט (lahat) is here understood as a hapax legomenon meaning “devour” (see HALOT 521 s.v. II להט), a homonym of the more common verb meaning “to burn.” A more traditional interpretation takes the verb from this latter root and translates, “those who are aflame” (see BDB 529 s.v.; cf. NASB “those who breathe forth fire”).
[57:4] 11 tn Heb “my life, in the midst of lions, I lie down, devouring ones, sons of mankind, their teeth a spear and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.” The syntax of the verse is difficult. Another option is to take “my life” with the preceding verse. For this to make sense, one must add a verb, perhaps “and may he deliver” (cf. the LXX), before the phrase. One might then translate, “May God send his loyal love and faithfulness and deliver my life.” If one does take “my life” with v. 4, then the parallelism of v. 5 is altered and one might translate: “in the midst of lions I lie down, [among] men who want to devour me, whose teeth….”
[64:3] 12 tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[64:3] 13 tn Heb “a bitter word.”
[64:4] 14 tn The psalmist uses the singular because he is referring to himself here as representative of a larger group.
[64:4] 15 tn Heb “and are unafraid.” The words “of retaliation” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[64:8] 16 tc The MT reads literally, “and they caused him to stumble, upon them, their tongue.” Perhaps the third plural subject of the verb is indefinite with the third singular pronominal suffix on the verb being distributive (see Ps 63:10). In this case one may translate, “each one will be made to stumble.” The preposition עַל (’al) might then be taken as adversative, “against them [is] their tongue.” Many prefer to emend the text to וַיַּכְשִׁילֵמוֹ עֲלֵי לְשׁוֹנָם (vayyakhshilemo ’aley lÿshonam, “and he caused them to stumble over their tongue”). However, if this reading is original, it is difficult to see how the present reading of the MT arose. Furthermore, the preposition is not collocated with the verb כָּשַׁל (kashal) elsewhere. It is likely that the MT is corrupt, but a satisfying emendation has not yet been proposed.
[64:8] 17 tn The Hitpolel verbal form is probably from the root נוּד (nud; see HALOT 678 s.v. נוד), which is attested elsewhere in the Hitpolel stem, not the root נָדַד (nadad, as proposed by BDB 622 s.v. I נָדַד), which does not occur elsewhere in this stem.
[120:3] 18 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
