Discovery BoxPsalms 120:3
Context120:3 How will he severely punish you,
you deceptive talker? 1
Psalms 34:13
Context34:13 Then make sure you don’t speak evil words 2
or use deceptive speech! 3
Psalms 4:2
Context4:2 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 38:12
Context38:12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me; 9
those who want to harm me speak destructive words;
all day long they say deceitful things.
Psalms 10:7
Context10:7 His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words; 10
his tongue injures and destroys. 11
Psalms 12:2
Context12:2 People lie to one another; 12
they flatter and deceive. 13
Psalms 18:26
Context18:26 You prove to be reliable 14 to one who is blameless,
but you prove to be deceptive 15 to one who is perverse. 16
Psalms 49:5
Context49:5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble, 17
when the sinful deeds of deceptive men threaten to overwhelm me? 18
Psalms 109:2
Context109:2 For they say cruel and deceptive things to me;
they lie to me. 19
Psalms 119:118
Context119:118 You despise 20 all who stray from your statutes,
for they are deceptive and unreliable. 21
[120:3] 1 tn Heb “What will he give to you, and what will he add to you, O tongue of deception?” The psalmist addresses his deceptive enemies. The
[34:13] 2 tn Heb “guard your tongue from evil.”
[34:13] 3 tn Heb “and your lips from speaking deception.”
[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] 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.
[38:12] 4 tn Heb “lay snares.”
[10:7] 5 tn Heb “[with] a curse his mouth is full, and lies and injury.”
[10:7] 6 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] 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.”
[18:26] 8 tn The Hebrew verb פָתַל (patal) is used in only three other texts. In Gen 30:8 it means literally “to wrestle,” or “to twist.” In Job 5:13 it refers to devious individuals, and in Prov 8:8 to deceptive words.
[18:26] 9 tn The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (’iqqesh) has the basic nuance “twisted, crooked,” and by extension refers to someone or something that is morally perverse. It appears frequently in Proverbs, where it is used of evil people (22:5), speech (8:8; 19:1), thoughts (11:20; 17:20), and life styles (2:15; 28:6). A righteous king opposes such people (Ps 101:4).
[49:5] 8 tn Heb “days of trouble.” The phrase also occurs in Ps 94:13. The question is rhetorical; there is no reason to be afraid when the rich oppressors threaten the weak (see v. 17). The following verses explain why this is so.
[49:5] 9 tc The MT has, “the iniquity of my heels surrounds me.” The clause is best understood as temporal and as elaborating on the preceding phrase “times of trouble.” If the MT is retained, the genitive “of my heels” would probably indicate location (“the iniquity at my heels”); the sinful actions of the rich threaten to overtake the psalmist, as it were. It is better, however, to emend עֲקֵבַי (’aqivay, “my heels”) to either (1) עֲקֻבַּי (’aqubay, “my deceitful ones,” i.e., “those who deceive me” [from the adjective עָקֹב (’aqov), “deceitful,” see Jer 17:9]) or (2) עֹקְבַי (’oqÿvay, “those who deceive me” [a suffixed active participle from עָקַב, ’aqav, “betray, deceive”]). Origen’s transliteration of the Hebrew text favors the first of these options. Either of the emendations provides a much smoother transition to v. 6, because “those who trust in their wealth” would then be appositional to “those who deceive me.”
[109:2] 9 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.”
[119:118] 10 tn The Hebrew verb סָלָה (salah, “to disdain”) occurs only here and in Lam 1:15. Cognate usage in Aramaic and Akkadian, as well as Lam 1:15, suggest it may have a concrete nuance of “to throw away.”
