Psalms 10:7

10:7 His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words; ¹ 

his tongue injures and destroys. ² 

Psalms 12:2

12:2 People lie to one another; ³ 

they flatter and deceive. ⁴ 

Psalms 41:6

41:6 When someone comes to visit, ⁵  he pretends to be friendly; ⁶ 

he thinks of ways to defame me, ⁷ 

and when he leaves he slanders me. ⁸ 

Psalms 58:3

58:3 The wicked turn aside from birth; ⁹ 

liars go astray as soon as they are born. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 62:4

62:4 They ¹¹  spend all their time planning how to bring him ¹²  down. ¹³ 

They love to use deceit; ¹⁴ 

they pronounce blessings with their mouths,

but inwardly they utter curses. ¹⁵  (Selah)

Psalms 109:2-3

109:2 For they say cruel and deceptive things to me;

they lie to me. ¹⁶ 

109:3 They surround me and say hateful things; ¹⁷ 

they attack me for no reason.

Isaiah 59:5-7

59:5 They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake

and spin a spider’s web.

Whoever eats their eggs will die,

a poisonous snake is hatched. ¹⁸ 

59:6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;

they cannot cover themselves with what they make.

Their deeds are sinful;

they commit violent crimes. ¹⁹ 

59:7 They are eager to do evil, ²⁰ 

quick to shed innocent blood. ²¹ 

Their thoughts are sinful;

they crush and destroy. ²² 

[10:7]  ¹ tn Heb “[with] a curse his mouth is full, and lies and injury.”

[10:7]  ² tn Heb “under his tongue are destruction and wickedness.” The words translated “destruction and wickedness” are also paired in Ps 90:10. They also appear in proximity in Pss 7:14 and 55:10.

[12:2]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.”

[41:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “to see.”

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

[41:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “his heart gathers sin to itself.”

[41:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “he goes outside and speaks.”

[58:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the womb.”

[58:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “speakers of a lie go astray from the womb.”

[62:4]  ¹¹ tn That is, the psalmist’s enemies addressed in the previous verse.

[62:4]  ¹² tn That is, the generic “man” referred to in the previous verse.

[62:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “only from his lofty place [or perhaps, “dignity”] they plan to drive [him] away.”

[62:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “they delight [in] a lie.”

[62:4]  ¹⁵ sn The enemies use deceit to bring down their victim. They make him think they are his friends by pronouncing blessings upon him, but inwardly they desire his demise.

[109:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for a mouth of evil and a mouth of deceit against me they open, they speak with me [with] a tongue of falsehood.”

[109:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and [with] words of hatred they surround me.”

[59:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “that which is pressed in hatches [as] a snake.”

[59:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “their deeds are deeds of sin, and the work of violence [is] in their hands.”

[59:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”

[59:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”

[59:7]  ²² tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”