Psalms 5:9

5:9 For ¹  they do not speak the truth; ² 

their stomachs are like the place of destruction, ³ 

their throats like an open grave, ⁴ 

their tongues like a steep slope leading into it. ⁵ 

Psalms 12:2

12:2 People lie to one another; ⁶ 

they flatter and deceive. ⁷ 

Psalms 55:21

55:21 His words are as smooth as butter, ⁸ 

but he harbors animosity in his heart. ⁹ 

His words seem softer than oil,

but they are really like sharp swords. ¹⁰ 

Proverbs 29:5

29:5 The one ¹¹  who flatters ¹²  his neighbor

spreads a net ¹³  for his steps. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 59:13-15

59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;

we turned back from following our God.

We stir up ¹⁵  oppression and rebellion;

we tell lies we concocted in our minds. ¹⁶ 

59:14 Justice is driven back;

godliness ¹⁷  stands far off.

Indeed, ¹⁸  honesty stumbles in the city square

and morality is not even able to enter.

59:15 Honesty has disappeared;

the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.

The Lord watches and is displeased, ¹⁹ 

for there is no justice.

Jeremiah 9:3-5

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.

Ezekiel 33:30-31

33:30 “But as for you, son of man, your people ²⁸  (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, ²⁹  ‘Come hear the word that comes ³⁰  from the Lord.’ 33:31 They come to you in crowds, ³¹  and they sit in front of you as ³²  my people. They hear your words, but do not obey ³³  them. For they talk lustfully, ³⁴  and their heart is set on ³⁵  their own advantage. ³⁶ 

[5:9]  ¹ tn Or “certainly.”

[5:9]  ² tn Heb “for there is not in his mouth truthfulness.” The singular pronoun (“his”) probably refers back to the “man of bloodshed and deceit” mentioned in v. 6. The singular is collective or representative, as the plural in the next line indicates, and so has been translated “they.”

[5:9]  ³ tn Heb “their inward part[s] [is] destruction.” For a discussion of the extended metaphor in v. 9b, see the note on the word “it” at the end of the verse.

[5:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “their throat is an open grave.” For a discussion of the extended metaphor in v. 9b, see the note on the word “it” at the end of the verse. The metaphor is suggested by the physical resemblance of the human throat to a deeply dug grave; both are dark chasms.

[5:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “they make smooth their tongue.” Flattering, deceitful words are in view. See Ps 12:2. The psalmist’s deceitful enemies are compared to the realm of death/Sheol in v. 9b. Sheol was envisioned as a dark region within the earth, the entrance to which was the grave with its steep slopes (cf. Ps 88:4-6). The enemies’ victims are pictured here as slipping down a steep slope (the enemies’ tongues) and falling into an open grave (their throat) that terminates in destruction in the inner recesses of Sheol (their stomach). The enemies’ קרב (“inward part”) refers here to their thoughts and motives, which are destructive in their intent. The throat is where these destructive thoughts are transformed into words, and their tongue is what they use to speak the deceitful words that lead their innocent victims to their demise.

[12:2]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.”

[55:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “the butter-like [words] of his mouth are smooth.” The noun מַחְמָאֹת (makhma’ot, “butter-like [words]”) occurs only here. Many prefer to emend the form to מֵחֶמְאָה (mekhem’ah, from [i.e., “than”] butter”), cf. NEB, NRSV “smoother than butter.” However, in this case “his mouth” does not agree in number with the plural verb חָלְקוּ (kholqu, “they are smooth”). Therefore some further propose an emendation of פִּיו (piv, “his mouth”) to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”). In any case, the point seems to that the psalmist’s former friend spoke kindly to him and gave the outward indications of friendship.

[55:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “and war [is in] his heart.”

[55:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords.”

[29:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a man,” but the context here does not suggest that the proverb refers to males only.

[29:5]  ¹² tn The form is the Hiphil participle, literally “deals smoothly,” i.e., smoothing over things that should be brought to one’s attention.

[29:5]  ¹³ sn The image of “spreading a net” for someone’s steps is an implied comparison (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis): As one would literally spread a net, this individual’s flattery will come back to destroy him. A net would be spread to catch the prey, and so the idea is one of being caught and destroyed.

[29:5]  ¹⁴ tn There is some ambiguity concerning the referent of “his steps.” The net could be spread for the one flattered (cf. NRSV, “a net for the neighbor’s feet”; NLT, “their feet,” referring to others), or for the flatterer himself (cf. TEV “you set a trap for yourself”). The latter idea would make the verse more powerful: In flattering someone the flatterer is getting himself into a trap (e.g., 2:16; 7:5; 26:28; 28:23).

[59:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “speaking.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[59:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.”

[59:14]  ¹⁷ tn Or “righteousness” (ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NAB “justice.”

[59:14]  ¹⁸ tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).

[59:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and it is displeasing in his eyes.”

[9:3]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”

[9:3]  ²² tn Heb “but not through honesty.”

[9:3]  ²³ tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”

[9:3]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ tn Heb “cheating, each of them will cheat.”

[9:5]  ²⁷ 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.

[33:30]  ²⁸ tn Heb “sons of your people.”

[33:30]  ²⁹ tn Heb “one to one, a man to his brother.”

[33:30]  ³⁰ tn Heb “comes out.”

[33:31]  ³¹ tn Heb “as people come.” Apparently this is an idiom indicating that they come in crowds. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:264.

[33:31]  ³² tn The word “as” is supplied in the translation.

[33:31]  ³³ tn Heb “do.”

[33:31]  ³⁴ tn Heb “They do lust with their mouths.”

[33:31]  ³⁵ tn Heb “goes after.”

[33:31]  ³⁶ tn The present translation understands the term often used for “unjust gain” in a wider sense, following M. Greenberg, who also notes that the LXX uses a term which can describe either sexual or ritual pollution. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:687.