Psalms 140:3

NETBible

Their tongues wound like a serpent; 1  a viper’s 2  venom is behind 3  their lips. (Selah)

NIV ©

They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips. Selah

NASB ©

They sharpen their tongues as a serpent; Poison of a viper is under their lips. Selah.

NLT ©

Their tongues sting like a snake; the poison of a viper drips from their lips. Interlude

MSG ©

They practice the sharp rhetoric of hate and hurt, speak venomous words that maim and kill.

BBE ©

Their tongues are sharp like the tongue of a snake; the poison of snakes is under their lips. (Selah.)

NRSV ©

They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s, and under their lips is the venom of vipers. Selah

NKJV ©

They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; The poison of asps is under their lips. Selah

KJV
They have sharpened
<08150> (8804)
their tongues
<03956>
like a serpent
<05175>_;
adders
<05919>_'
poison
<02534>
[is] under their lips
<08193>_.
Selah
<05542>_.
NASB ©
They sharpen
<8150>
their tongues
<3956>
as a serpent
<5175>
; Poison
<2534>
of a viper
<5919>
is under
<8478>
their lips
<8193>
. Selah
<5542>
.
LXXM
(139:4) hkonhsan {V-AAI-3P} glwssan
<1100> 
N-ASF
autwn
<846> 
P-GPM
wsei
<5616> 
ADV
ofewv
<3789> 
N-GSM
iov
<2447> 
N-NSM
aspidwn
<785> 
N-GPF
upo
<5259> 
PREP
ta
<3588> 
T-APN
ceilh
<5491> 
N-APN
autwn
<846> 
P-GPM
diaqalma {N-NSN}
NET [draft] ITL
Their tongues
<03956>
wound
<08150>
like
<03644>
a serpent
<05175>
; a viper’s
<05919>
venom
<02534>
is behind
<08478>
their lips
<08193>
. (Selah
<05542>
)
HEBREW
hlo
<05542>
wmytpv
<08193>
txt
<08478>
bwske
<05919>
tmx
<02534>
sxn
<05175>
wmk
<03644>
Mnwsl
<03956>
wnns
<08150>
(140:3)
<140:4>
NETBible

Their tongues wound like a serpent; 1  a viper’s 2  venom is behind 3  their lips. (Selah)

NET Notes

1 tn Heb “they sharpen their tongue like a serpent.” Ps 64:3 reads, “they sharpen their tongues like sword.” Perhaps Ps 140:3 uses a mixed metaphor, the point being that “they sharpen their tongues [like a sword],” as it were, so that when they speak, their words wound like a serpent’s bite. Another option is that the language refers to the pointed or forked nature of a serpent’s tongue, which is viewed metaphorically as “sharpened.”

2 tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.

3 tn Heb “under.”