Psalms 12:2

12:2 People lie to one another; ¹ 

they flatter and deceive. ² 

Psalms 24:4

24:4 The one whose deeds are blameless

and whose motives are pure, ³ 

who does not lie, ⁴ 

or make promises with no intention of keeping them. ⁵ 

Psalms 26:4

26:4 I do not associate ⁶  with deceitful men,

or consort ⁷  with those who are dishonest. ⁸ 

Psalms 31:6

31:6 I hate those who serve worthless idols, ⁹ 

but I trust in the Lord.

Psalms 89:47

89:47 Take note of my brief lifespan! ¹⁰ 

Why do you make all people so mortal? ¹¹ 

Psalms 144:11

144:11 Grab me and rescue me from the power of foreigners, ¹² 

who speak lies,

and make false promises. ¹³ 

[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.”

[24:4]  ³ tn Heb “the innocent of hands and the pure of heart.” The “hands” allude to one’s actions, the “heart” to one’s thought life and motives.

[24:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “who does not lift up for emptiness my life.” The first person pronoun on נַפְשִׁי (nafshiy, “my life”) makes little sense here; many medieval Hebrew mss support the ancient versions in reading a third person pronoun “his.” The idiom “lift the life” here means to “long for” or “desire strongly.” In this context (note the reference to an oath in the following line) “emptiness” probably refers to speech (see Ps 12:2).

[24:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and does not swear an oath deceitfully.”

[26:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “sit.”

[26:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “go.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.

[26:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “[those who] conceal themselves.”

[31:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “the ones who observe vain things of falsehood.” See Jonah 2:9.

[89:47]  ⁹ tn Heb “remember me, what is [my] lifespan.” The Hebrew term חֶלֶד (kheled) is also used of one’s lifespan in Ps 39:5. Because the Hebrew text is so awkward here, some prefer to emend it to read מֶה חָדֵל אָנִי (meh khadel ’aniy, “[remember] how transient [that is, “short-lived”] I am”; see Ps 39:4).

[89:47]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “For what emptiness do you create all the sons of mankind?” In this context the term שָׁוְא (shavah) refers to mankind’s mortal nature and the brevity of life (see vv. 45, 48).

[144:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from the hand of the sons of foreignness.”

[144:11]  ¹² tn Heb “who [with] their mouth speak falsehood, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.” See v. 8 where the same expression occurs.