Psalms 12:2

12:2 People lie to one another; ¹ 

they flatter and deceive. ² 

Proverbs 6:26

6:26 for on account ³  of a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread,

but the wife of another man ⁴  preys on your precious life. ⁵ 

Proverbs 7:21

7:21 She persuaded him ⁶  with persuasive words; ⁷ 

with her smooth talk ⁸  she compelled him. ⁹ 

Proverbs 22:14

22:14 The mouth ¹⁰  of an adulteress is like ¹¹  a deep pit; ¹² 

the one against whom the Lord is angry ¹³  will fall into it. ¹⁴ 

Proverbs 26:28

26:28 A lying tongue ¹⁵  hates those crushed by it,

and a flattering mouth works ruin. ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 9:2-5

9:2 (9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the desert

where I could spend some time like a weary traveler. ¹⁷ 

Then I would desert my people

and walk away from them

because they are all unfaithful to God,

a congregation ¹⁸  of people that has been disloyal to him. ¹⁹ 

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

9:3 The Lord says, ²⁰ 

“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.

Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. ²¹ 

They have become powerful in the land,

but they have not done so by honest means. ²² 

Indeed, they do one evil thing after another ²³ 

and do not pay attention to me. ²⁴ 

9:4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.

He must not even trust any of his relatives. ²⁵ 

For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. ²⁶ 

And all of his friends will tell lies about him.

9:5 One friend deceives another

and no one tells the truth.

These people have trained themselves ²⁷  to tell lies.

They do wrong and are unable to repent.

Micah 7:2

7:2 Faithful men have disappeared ²⁸  from the land;

there are no godly men left. ²⁹ 

They all wait in ambush so they can shed blood; ³⁰ 

they hunt their own brother with a net. ³¹ 

Micah 7:5

7:5 Do not rely on a friend;

do not trust a companion!

Don’t even share secrets with the one who lies in your arms! ³² 

[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.”

[6:26]  ³ tn The word בְעַד (bÿ’ad) may be taken either as “on account of” (= by means of a) prostitute (cf. ASV, NASB), or “for the price of” a prostitute (cf. NAB). Most expositors take the first reading, though that use of the preposition is unattested, and then must supply “one is brought to.” The verse would then say that going to a prostitute can bring a man to poverty, but going to another man’s wife can lead to death. If the second view were taken, it would mean that one had a smaller price than the other. It is not indicating that one is preferable to the other; both are to be avoided.

[6:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “the wife of a man.”

[6:26]  ⁵ tn These two lines might be an example of synthetic parallelism, that is, “A, what’s more B.” The A-line describes the detrimental moral effect of a man going to a professional prostitute; the B-line heightens this and describes the far worse effect – moral and mortal! – of a man committing adultery with another man’s wife. When a man goes to a prostitute, he lowers himself to become nothing more than a “meal ticket” to sustain the life of that woman; however, when a man commits adultery, he places his very life in jeopardy – the rage of the husband could very well kill him.

[7:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “she turned him aside.” This expression means that she persuaded him. This section now begins the description of the capitulation, for the flattering speech is finished.

[7:21]  ⁶ sn The term לֶקַח (leqakh) was used earlier in Proverbs for wise instruction; now it is used ironically for enticement to sin (see D. W. Thomas, “Textual and Philological Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 280-92).

[7:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “smooth of her lips”; cf. NAB “smooth lips”; NASB “flattering lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause representing what she says.

[7:21]  ⁸ tn The verb means “to impel; to thrust; to banish,” but in this stem in this context “to compel; to force” into some action. The imperfect tense has the nuance of progressive imperfect to parallel the characteristic perfect of the first colon.

[22:14]  ⁷ sn The word “mouth” is a metonymy of cause; it refers to the seductive speech of the strange woman (e.g., 2:16-22; and chs. 5, 7).

[22:14]  ⁸ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[22:14]  ⁹ sn The point of the metaphor is that what the adulteress says is like a deep pit. The pit is like the hunter’s snare; it is a trap that is difficult to escape. So to succumb to the adulteress – or to any other folly this represents – is to get oneself into a difficulty that has no easy escape.

[22:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the one who is cursed by the Lord” (cf. NASB). The construction uses the passive participle in construct with Yahweh. The “Lord” is genitive of agency after the passive form. The verb means “be indignant, express indignation.” So it is talking about one against whom the Lord is angry.

[22:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “will fall there.” The “falling” could refer to the curse itself or to the result of the curse.

[26:28]  ⁹ tn Heb “the tongue of deception.” The subject matter of this proverb is deceptive speech. The “tongue of deception” (using a metonymy of cause with an attributive genitive) means that what is said is false. Likewise the “smooth mouth” means that what is said is smooth, flattering.

[26:28]  ¹⁰ sn The verse makes it clear that only pain and ruin can come from deception. The statement that the lying tongue “hates those crushed by it” suggests that the sentiments of hatred help the deceiver justify what he says about people. The ruin that he brings is probably on other people, but it could also be taken to include his own ruin.

[9:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I wish I had in the desert a lodging place [inn, or place to spend the night] for travelers.”

[9:2]  ¹² tn Or “bunch,” but this loses the irony; the word is used for the solemn assemblies at the religious feasts.

[9:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “they are all adulterers, a congregation of unfaithful people.” However, spiritual adultery is, of course, meant, not literal adultery. So the literal translation would be misleading.

[9:3]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”

[9:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “but not through honesty.”

[9:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”

[9:3]  ¹⁷ 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).

[9:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Be on your guard…Do not trust.” The verbs are second masculine plural of direct address and there seems no way to translate literally and not give the mistaken impression that Jeremiah is being addressed. This is another example of the tendency in Hebrew style to turn from description to direct address (a figure of speech called apostrophe).

[9:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “cheating, each of them will cheat.”

[9:5]  ¹⁷ 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.

[7:2]  ¹⁹ tn Or “have perished”; “have been destroyed.”

[7:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and an upright one among men there is not.”

[7:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “for bloodshed” (so NASB); TEV “for a chance to commit murder.”

[7:2]  ²² sn Micah compares these ungodly people to hunters trying to capture their prey with a net.

[7:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “from the one who lies in your arms, guard the doors of your mouth.”