Discovery BoxPsalms 7:14-16
Context7:14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,
who conceives destructive plans,
and gives birth to harmful lies – 1
and then falls into the hole he has made. 3
7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans 4
and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. 5
Psalms 55:23
Context55:23 But you, O God, will bring them 6 down to the deep Pit. 7
Violent and deceitful people 8 will not live even half a normal lifespan. 9
But as for me, I trust in you.
Psalms 64:7-10
Context64:7 But God will shoot 10 at them;
suddenly they will be 11 wounded by an arrow. 12
64:8 Their slander will bring about their demise. 13
All who see them will shudder, 14
64:9 and all people will fear. 15
They will proclaim 16 what God has done,
and reflect on his deeds.
64:10 The godly will rejoice in the Lord
and take shelter in him.
All the morally upright 17 will boast. 18
Psalms 120:2-4
Context120:2 I said, 19 “O Lord, rescue me 20
from those who lie with their lips 21
and those who deceive with their tongue. 22
120:3 How will he severely punish you,
you deceptive talker? 23
120:4 Here’s how! 24 With the sharp arrows of warriors,
with arrowheads forged over the hot coals. 25
Psalms 140:9-11
Context140:9 As for the heads of those who surround me –
may the harm done by 26 their lips overwhelm them!
140:10 May he rain down 27 fiery coals upon them!
May he throw them into the fire!
From bottomless pits they will not escape. 28
140:11 A slanderer 29 will not endure on 30 the earth;
calamity will hunt down a violent man and strike him down. 31
Proverbs 12:19
Context12:19 The one who tells the truth 32 will endure forever,
but the one who lies 33 will last only for a moment. 34
Proverbs 19:5
Context19:5 A false witness 35 will not go unpunished,
and the one who spouts out 36 lies will not escape punishment. 37
Proverbs 19:9
Context19:9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and the one who spouts out 38 lies will perish. 39
Revelation 21:8
Context21:8 But to the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, 40 idol worshipers, 41 and all those who lie, their place 42 will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. 43 That 44 is the second death.”
[7:14] 1 tn Heb “and he conceives harm and gives birth to a lie.”
[7:15] 2 tn Heb “a pit he digs and he excavates it.” Apparently the imagery of hunting is employed; the wicked sinner digs this pit to entrap and destroy his intended victim. The redundancy in the Hebrew text has been simplified in the translation.
[7:15] 3 tn The verb forms in vv. 15-16 describe the typical behavior and destiny of those who attempt to destroy others. The image of the evildoer falling into the very trap he set for his intended victim emphasizes the appropriate nature of God’s judgment.
[7:16] 4 tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”
[7:16] 5 tn Heb “and on his forehead his violence [i.e., the violence he intended to do to others] comes down.”
[55:23] 6 tn The pronominal suffix refers to the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 19).
[55:23] 7 tn Heb “well of the pit.” The Hebrew term שַׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 30:9; 49:9; 103:4).
[55:23] 8 tn Heb “men of bloodshed and deceit.”
[55:23] 9 tn Heb “will not divide in half their days.”
[64:7] 10 tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive is normally used in narrative contexts to describe completed past actions. It is possible that the conclusion to the psalm (vv. 7-10) was added to the lament after God’s judgment of the wicked in response to the psalmist’s lament (vv. 1-6). The translation assumes that these verses are anticipatory and express the psalmist’s confidence that God would eventually judge the wicked. The psalmist uses a narrative style as a rhetorical device to emphasize his certitude. See GKC 329-30 §111.w.
[64:7] 11 tn The perfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s certitude about the coming demise of the wicked.
[64:7] 12 tn The translation follows the traditional accentuation of the MT. Another option is to translate, “But God will shoot them down with an arrow, suddenly they will be wounded” (cf. NIV, NRSV).
[64:8] 13 tc The MT reads literally, “and they caused him to stumble, upon them, their tongue.” Perhaps the third plural subject of the verb is indefinite with the third singular pronominal suffix on the verb being distributive (see Ps 63:10). In this case one may translate, “each one will be made to stumble.” The preposition עַל (’al) might then be taken as adversative, “against them [is] their tongue.” Many prefer to emend the text to וַיַּכְשִׁילֵמוֹ עֲלֵי לְשׁוֹנָם (vayyakhshilemo ’aley lÿshonam, “and he caused them to stumble over their tongue”). However, if this reading is original, it is difficult to see how the present reading of the MT arose. Furthermore, the preposition is not collocated with the verb כָּשַׁל (kashal) elsewhere. It is likely that the MT is corrupt, but a satisfying emendation has not yet been proposed.
[64:8] 14 tn The Hitpolel verbal form is probably from the root נוּד (nud; see HALOT 678 s.v. נוד), which is attested elsewhere in the Hitpolel stem, not the root נָדַד (nadad, as proposed by BDB 622 s.v. I נָדַד), which does not occur elsewhere in this stem.
[64:9] 15 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[64:9] 16 tn Heb “the work of God,” referring to the judgment described in v. 7.
[64:10] 17 tn Heb “upright in heart.”
[64:10] 18 tn That is, about the
[120:2] 19 tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the introductory note for this psalm.
[120:2] 21 tn Heb “from a lip of falsehood.”
[120:2] 22 tn Heb “from a tongue of deception.”
[120:3] 23 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
[120:4] 24 tn The words “here’s how” are supplied in the translation as a clarification. In v. 4 the psalmist answers the question he raises in v. 3.
[120:4] 25 tn Heb “with coals of the wood of the broom plant.” The wood of the broom plant was used to make charcoal, which in turn was used to fuel the fire used to forge the arrowheads.
[140:9] 26 tn Heb “harm of their lips.” The genitive here indicates the source or agent of the harm.
[140:10] 27 tn The verb form in the Kethib (consonantal Hebrew text) appears to be a Hiphil imperfect from the root מוּט (mut, “to sway”), but the Hiphil occurs only here and in Ps 55:3, where it is preferable to read יַמְטִירוּ (yamtiru, “they rain down”). In Ps 140:10 the form יַמְטֵר (yamter, “let him rain down”) should probably be read.
[140:10] 28 tn Heb “into bottomless pits, they will not arise.” The translation assumes that the preposition -בְּ (bet) has the nuance “from” here. Another option is to connect the line with what precedes, take the final clause as an asyndetic relative clause, and translate, “into bottomless pits [from which] they cannot arise.” The Hebrew noun מַהֲמֹרָה (mahamorah, “bottomless pit”) occurs only here in the OT.
[140:11] 29 tn Heb “a man of a tongue.”
[140:11] 30 tn Heb “be established in.”
[140:11] 31 tn Heb “for blows.” The Hebrew noun מַדְחֵפֹה (madkhefoh, “blow”) occurs only here in the OT.
[12:19] 32 tn Heb “a lip of truth.” The genitive אֱמֶת (’emet, “truth”) functions as an attributive adjective: “truthful lip.” The term שְׂפַת (sÿfat, “lip”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= lip) for the whole (= person): “truthful person.” The contrast is between “the lip of truth” and the “tongue of lying.”
[12:19] 33 tn Heb “a tongue of deceit.” The genitive שָׁקֶר (shaqer, “deceit”) functions as an attributive genitive. The noun לָשׁוֹן (lashon, “tongue”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= tongue) for the whole (= person): “lying person.”
[12:19] 34 tn Heb “while I would twinkle.” This expression is an idiom meaning “only for a moment.” The twinkling of the eye, the slightest movement, signals the brevity of the life of a lie (hyperbole). But truth will be established (תִּכּוֹן, tikon), that is, be made firm and endure.
[19:5] 35 tn Heb “a witness of lies.” This expression is an attributive genitive: “a lying witness” (cf. CEV “dishonest witnesses”). This is paralleled by “the one who pours out lies.”
[19:5] 36 tn Heb “breathes out”; NAB “utters”; NIV “pours out.”
[19:5] 37 tn Heb “will not escape” (so NAB, NASB); NIV “will not go free.” Here “punishment” is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[19:9] 38 tn Heb “breathes out”; NAB “utters”; NIV “pours out.”
[19:9] 39 sn The verse is the same as v. 5, except that the last word changes to the verb “will perish” (cf. NCV “will die”; CEV, NLT “will be destroyed”; TEV “is doomed”).
[21:8] 40 tn On the term φαρμακεία (farmakeia, “magic spells”) see L&N 53.100: “the use of magic, often involving drugs and the casting of spells upon people – ‘to practice magic, to cast spells upon, to engage in sorcery, magic, sorcery.’ φαρμακεία: ἐν τῇ φαρμακείᾳ σου ἐπλανήθησαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ‘with your magic spells you deceived all the peoples (of the world)’ Re 18:23.”
[21:8] 42 tn Grk “their share.”
[21:8] 43 tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”
[21:8] 44 tn Grk “sulfur, which is.” The relative pronoun has been translated as “that” to indicate its connection to the previous clause. The nearest logical antecedent is “the lake [that burns with fire and sulfur],” although “lake” (λίμνη, limnh) is feminine gender, while the pronoun “which” (ὅ, Jo) is neuter gender. This means that (1) the proper antecedent could be “their place” (Grk “their share,”) agreeing with the relative pronoun in number and gender, or (2) the neuter pronoun still has as its antecedent the feminine noun “lake,” since agreement in gender between pronoun and antecedent was not always maintained, with an explanatory phrase occurring with a neuter pronoun regardless of the case of the antecedent. In favor of the latter explanation is Rev 20:14, where the phrase “the lake of fire” is in apposition to the phrase “the second death.”
