Jeremiah 9:3

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

9:3 The Lord says, ¹ 

“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 

Job 15:5

15:5 Your sin inspires ⁶  your mouth;

you choose the language ⁷  of the crafty. ⁸ 

Psalms 50:19

50:19 You do damage with words, ⁹ 

and use your tongue to deceive. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 64:3

64:3 They ¹¹  sharpen their tongues like a sword;

they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge, ¹² 

Psalms 140:3

140:3 Their tongues wound like a serpent; ¹³ 

a viper’s ¹⁴  venom is behind ¹⁵  their lips. (Selah)

Psalms 140:1

Psalm 140 ¹⁶ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

140:1 O Lord, rescue me from wicked men! ¹⁷ 

Protect me from violent men, ¹⁸ 

Psalms 4:2

4:2 You men, ¹⁹  how long will you try to turn my honor into shame? ²⁰ 

How long ²¹  will you love what is worthless ²² 

and search for what is deceptive? ²³  (Selah)

[9:3]  ¹ tn The words “The Lord says” have been moved up from the end of the verse to make clear that a change in speaker has occurred.

[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).

[15:5]  ⁶ tn The verb אַלֵּף (’allef) has the meaning of “to teach; to instruct,” but it is unlikely that the idea of revealing is intended. If the verb is understood metonymically, then “to inspire; to prompt” will be sufficient. Dahood and others find another root, and render the verb “to increase,” reversing subject and object: “your mouth increases your iniquity.”

[15:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “tongue.”

[15:5]  ⁸ tn The word means “shrewd; crafty; cunning” (see Gen 3:1). Job uses clever speech that is misleading and destructive.

[50:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “your mouth you send with evil.”

[50:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and your tongue binds together [i.e., “frames”] deceit.”

[64:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[64:3]  ¹² tn Heb “a bitter word.”

[140:3]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.

[140:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “under.”

[140:1]  ¹⁶ sn Psalm 140. The psalmist asks God to deliver him from his deadly enemies, calls judgment down upon them, and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.

[140:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from a wicked man.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

[140:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a man of violent acts.” The Hebrew uses the singular in a representative or collective sense (note the plural verbs in v. 2).

[4:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “sons of man.”

[4:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “how long my honor to shame?”

[4:2]  ²¹ tn The interrogative construction עַד־מֶה (’ad-meh, “how long?”), is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[4:2]  ²² tn Heb “emptiness.”

[4:2]  ²³ tn Heb “a lie.” Some see the metonymic language of v. 2b (“emptiness, lie”) as referring to idols or false gods. However, there is no solid immediate contextual evidence for such an interpretation. It is more likely that the psalmist addresses those who threaten him (see v. 1) and refers in a general way to their sinful lifestyle. (See R. Mosis, TDOT 7:121.) The two terms allude to the fact that sinful behavior is ultimately fruitless and self-destructive.