Psalms 12:2-3

12:2 People lie to one another; ¹ 

they flatter and deceive. ² 

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

and the tongue that boasts! ⁴ 

Psalms 36:2-4

36:2 for he is too proud

to recognize and give up his sin. ⁵ 

36:3 The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful;

he does not care about doing what is wise and right. ⁶ 

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

he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; ⁷ 

he does not reject what is evil. ⁸ 

Psalms 41:6-7

41:6 When someone comes to visit, ⁹  he pretends to be friendly; ¹⁰ 

he thinks of ways to defame me, ¹¹ 

and when he leaves he slanders me. ¹² 

41:7 All who hate me whisper insults about me to one another; ¹³ 

they plan ways to harm me.

Psalms 140:1-3

Psalm 140 ¹⁴ 

For the music director; a psalm of David.

140:1 O Lord, rescue me from wicked men! ¹⁵ 

Protect me from violent men, ¹⁶ 

140:2 who plan ways to harm me. ¹⁷ 

All day long they stir up conflict. ¹⁸ 

140:3 Their tongues wound like a serpent; ¹⁹ 

a viper’s ²⁰  venom is behind ²¹  their lips. (Selah)

Matthew 2:3-8

2:3 When King Herod ²²  heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. 2:4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, ²³  he asked them where the Christ ²⁴  was to be born. 2:5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet:

2:6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,

for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” ²⁵ 

2:7 Then Herod ²⁶  privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared. 2:8 He ²⁷  sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.”

Matthew 2:16

2:16 When Herod ²⁸  saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men ²⁹  to kill all the children in Bethlehem ³⁰  and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.

Matthew 26:4

26:4 They ³¹  planned to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.

Matthew 26:1

The Plot Against Jesus

26:1 When ³²  Jesus had finished saying all these things, he told his disciples,

Colossians 4:5

4:5 Conduct yourselves ³³  with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities.

Colossians 4:2

Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission

4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.

Colossians 4:2

Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission

4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.

[12:2]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.”

[12:3]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “a tongue speaking great [things].”

[36:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “for it causes to be smooth to him in his eyes to find his sin to hate.” The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. Perhaps the point is this: His rebellious attitude makes him reject any notion that God will hold him accountable. His attitude also prevents him from recognizing and repudiating his sinful ways.

[36:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “he ceases to exhibit wisdom to do good.” The Hiphil forms are exhibitive, indicating the outward expression of an inner attitude.

[36:4]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The three imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 highlight the characteristic behavior of the typical evildoer.

[41:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “to see.”

[41:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he speaks deceitfully.”

[41:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his heart gathers sin to itself.”

[41:6]  ¹² tn Heb “he goes outside and speaks.”

[41:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “together against me they whisper, all those who hate me.” The Hitpael of לָחַשׁ (lakhash) refers here to whispering to one another (see 2 Sam 12:19).

[140:1]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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).

[140:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they devise wicked [plans] in [their] mind.”

[140:2]  ¹⁸ tc Heb “they attack [for] war.” Some revocalize the verb (which is a Qal imperfect from גּוּר, gur, “to attack”) as יְגָרוּ (yÿgaru), a Piel imperfect from גָרָה (garah, “stir up strife”). This is followed in the present translation.

[140:3]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.

[140:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “under.”

[2:3]  ²² sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:4]  ²³ tn Or “and scribes of the people.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

[2:4]  ²⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:6]  ²⁵ sn A quotation from Mic 5:2.

[2:7]  ²⁶ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1.

[2:8]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[2:16]  ²⁸ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Note the fulfillment of the prophecy given by the angel in 2:13.

[2:16]  ²⁹ tn Or “soldiers.”

[2:16]  ³⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[26:4]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[26:1]  ³² tn Grk “And it happened when.” The introductory phrase καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto, “it happened that”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[4:5]  ³³ tn Grk “walk.” The verb περιπατέω (peripatew) is a common NT idiom for one’s lifestyle, behavior, or manner of conduct (L&N 41.11).