Psalms 7:14

7:14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,

who conceives destructive plans,

and gives birth to harmful lies – ¹ 

Psalms 33:17

33:17 A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory; ² 

despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.

Psalms 38:19

38:19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous; ³ 

those who hate me without cause outnumber me. ⁴ 

Psalms 52:3

52:3 You love evil more than good,

lies more than speaking the truth. ⁵  (Selah)

Psalms 119:78

119:78 May the arrogant be humiliated, for they have slandered me! ⁶ 

But I meditate on your precepts.

Psalms 119:104

119:104 Your precepts give me discernment.

Therefore I hate all deceitful actions. ⁷ 

Psalms 119:118

119:118 You despise ⁸  all who stray from your statutes,

for they are deceptive and unreliable. ⁹ 

Psalms 120:2

120:2 I said, ¹⁰  “O Lord, rescue me ¹¹ 

from those who lie with their lips ¹² 

and those who deceive with their tongue. ¹³ 

Psalms 144:8

144:8 who speak lies,

and make false promises. ¹⁴ 

[7:14]  ¹ tn Heb “and he conceives harm and gives birth to a lie.”

[33:17]  ² tn Heb “a lie [is] the horse for victory.”

[38:19]  ³ tn Heb “and my enemies, life, are many.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “life”) fits very awkwardly here. The translation assumes an emendation to חִנָּם (khinam, “without reason”; note the parallelism with שֶׁקֶר [sheqer, “falsely”] and see Pss 35:19; 69:4; Lam 3:52). The verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority (note the parallel verb רָבַב, ravav, “be many”).

[38:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “are many.”

[52:3]  ⁴ tn Or “deceit more than speaking what is right.”

[119:78]  ⁵ tn Heb “for [with] falsehood they have denied me justice.”

[119:104]  ⁶ tn Heb “every false path.”

[119:118]  ⁷ 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.”

[119:118]  ⁸ tn Heb “for their deceit [is] falsehood.”

[120:2]  ⁸ tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the introductory note for this psalm.

[120:2]  ⁹ tn Or “my life.”

[120:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from a lip of falsehood.”

[120:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from a tongue of deception.”

[144:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “who [with] their mouth speak falsehood, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood.” The reference to the “right hand” is probably a metonymy for an oath. When making an oath, one would raise the hand as a solemn gesture. See Exod 6:8; Num 14:30; Deut 32:40. The figure thus represents the making of false oaths (false promises).