Psalms 116:11

116:11 I rashly declared, ¹ 

“All men are liars.”

Psalms 58:3

58:3 The wicked turn aside from birth; ² 

liars go astray as soon as they are born. ³ 

Psalms 4:2

4:2 You men, ⁴  how long will you try to turn my honor into shame? ⁵ 

How long ⁶  will you love what is worthless ⁷ 

and search for what is deceptive? ⁸  (Selah)

Psalms 5:6

5:6 You destroy ⁹  liars; ¹⁰ 

the Lord despises ¹¹  violent and deceitful people. ¹² 

Psalms 62:4

62:4 They ¹³  spend all their time planning how to bring him ¹⁴  down. ¹⁵ 

They love to use deceit; ¹⁶ 

they pronounce blessings with their mouths,

but inwardly they utter curses. ¹⁷  (Selah)

Psalms 40:4

40:4 How blessed ¹⁸  is the one ¹⁹  who trusts in the Lord ²⁰ 

and does not seek help from ²¹  the proud or from liars! ²² 

Psalms 62:9

62:9 Men are nothing but a mere breath;

human beings are unreliable. ²³ 

When they are weighed in the scales,

all of them together are lighter than air. ²⁴ 

[116:11]  ¹ tn Heb “I said in my haste.”

[58:3]  ² tn Heb “from the womb.”

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

[4:2]  ³ tn Heb “sons of man.”

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

[4:2]  ⁵ tn The interrogative construction עַד־מֶה (’ad-meh, “how long?”), is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[4:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “emptiness.”

[4:2]  ⁷ 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.

[5:6]  ⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form indicates God’s typical response to such individuals. Another option is to translate the verb as future (“You will destroy”); the psalmist may be envisioning a time of judgment when God will remove the wicked from the scene.

[5:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “those who speak a lie.” In the OT a “lie” does not refer in a general philosophical sense to any statement that fails to correspond to reality. Instead it refers more specifically to a slanderous and/or deceitful statement that promotes one’s own selfish, sinful interests and/or exploits or harms those who are innocent. Note the emphasis on violence and deceit in the following line.

[5:6]  ⁶ tn The imperfect verbal form highlights the Lord’s characteristic attitude toward such individuals.

[5:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “a man of bloodshed and deceit.” The singular אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) is used here in a collective or representative sense; thus the translation “people” is appropriate here. Note the plural forms in vv. 5-6a.

[62:4]  ⁵ tn That is, the psalmist’s enemies addressed in the previous verse.

[62:4]  ⁶ tn That is, the generic “man” referred to in the previous verse.

[62:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “only from his lofty place [or perhaps, “dignity”] they plan to drive [him] away.”

[62:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “they delight [in] a lie.”

[62:4]  ⁹ 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.

[40:4]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1, 3; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[40:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “man.” See the note on the word “one” in Ps 1:1.

[40:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “who has made the Lord his [object of] trust.”

[40:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “and does not turn toward.”

[40:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “those falling away toward a lie.”

[62:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “only a breath [are] the sons of mankind, a lie [are] the sons of man.” The phrases “sons of mankind” and “sons of man” also appear together in Ps 49:2. Because of the parallel line there, where “rich and poor” are mentioned, a number of interpreters and translators treat these expressions as polar opposites, בְּנֵי אָדָם (bÿney ’adam) referring to the lower classes and בְּנֵי אִישׁ (bÿney ’ish) to higher classes. But usage does not support such a view. The rare phrase בְּנֵי אִישׁ (“sons of man”) appears to refer to human beings in general in its other uses (see Pss 4:2; Lam 3:33). It is better to understand the phrases as synonymous expressions.

[62:9]  ⁸ tn The noun הֶבֶל (hevel), translated “a breath” earlier in the verse, appears again here.