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 5:1

Psalm 5 ⁶ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by wind instruments; ⁷  a psalm of David.

5:1 Listen to what I say, ⁸  Lord!

Carefully consider my complaint! ⁹ 

Psalms 16:7

16:7 I will praise ¹⁰  the Lord who ¹¹  guides ¹²  me;

yes, during the night I reflect and learn. ¹³ 

Job 38:36

38:36 Who has put wisdom in the heart, ¹⁴ 

or has imparted understanding to the mind?

Luke 11:39

11:39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean ¹⁵  the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ¹⁶ 

Romans 7:22

7:22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being.

[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.

[5:1]  ⁶ sn Psalm 5. Appealing to God’s justice and commitment to the godly, the psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from evildoers.

[5:1]  ⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word נְחִילוֹת (nÿkhilot), which occurs only here, is uncertain. Many relate the form to חָלִיל (khalil, “flute”).

[5:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “my words.”

[5:1]  ⁹ tn Or “sighing.” The word occurs only here and in Ps 39:3.

[16:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “bless,” that is, “proclaim as worthy of praise.”

[16:7]  ¹¹ tn Or “because.”

[16:7]  ¹² tn Or “counsels, advises.”

[16:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “yes, [during] nights my kidneys instruct [or “correct”] me.” The “kidneys” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s moral character (see Ps 26:2). In the quiet darkness the Lord speaks to his inner being, as it were, and enables him to grow in moral understanding.

[38:36]  ¹⁴ tn This verse is difficult because of the two words, טֻחוֹת (tukhot, rendered here “heart”) and שֶׂכְוִי (sekhvi, here “mind”). They have been translated a number of ways: “meteor” and “celestial appearance”; the stars “Procyon” and “Sirius”; “inward part” and “mind”; even as birds, “ibis” and “cock.” One expects them to have something to do with nature – clouds and the like. The RSV accordingly took them to mean “meteor” (from a verb “to wander”) and “a celestial appearance.” But these meanings are not well-attested.

[11:39]  ¹⁵ sn The allusion to washing (clean the outside of the cup) shows Jesus knew what they were thinking and deliberately set up a contrast that charged them with hypocrisy and majoring on minors.

[11:39]  ¹⁶ tn Or “and evil.”