Psalms 140:3

Psalms 140:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah.
• New International Version (NIV)They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's, and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah
• New King James Version (NKJV)They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; The poison of asps is under their lips. Selah

Context of Psalms 140:3

1Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men. Protect me from men of violence, 2who devise evil in their hearts and stir up war all day long. They sharpen their tongues like snakes; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah 4Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked. Keep me safe from men of violence who scheme to make me stumble. 5The proud hide a snare for me; the cords of their net are spread along the path, and lures are set out for me. Selah

Psalms 140:3 word by word

שָֽׁנֲנ֣וּ לְשׁוֹנָם֮ כְּֽמוֹ־נָ֫חָ֥שׁ חֲמַ֥ת עַכְשׁ֑וּב תַּ֖חַת שְׂפָתֵ֣ימוֹ סֶֽלָה׃Read the interlinear

• They sharpenשָׁנַןshânan · to sharpenH8150
• their tonguesלָשׁוֹןlâshôn lâshôn leshônâh · tongueH3956
• likeכְּמוֹkemô kâmô · likeH3644
• snakesנָחָשׁnâchâsh · serpentH5175
• the venomחֵמָהchêmâh chêmâ' · rageH2534
• of vipersעַכְשׁוּב‛akshûb · viperH5919
• is onתַּחַתtachath · underneath: underH8478
• their lipsשָׂפָהώâphâh ώepheth · lipsH8193
• Selahסֶ֫לָהselâh · SelahH5542

Cross-references for Psalms 140:3

• Psalms 52:2Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.
• Psalms 57:4My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts— with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
• Psalms 59:7See what they spew from their mouths— sharp words from their lips: “For who can hear us?”
• Psalms 64:3who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows,
• Proverbs 12:18Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
• Isaiah 59:3For your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters injustice.
• Jeremiah 9:3“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.
• James 3:6The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
• Genesis 3:13Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”
• Proverbs 23:32In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
• Matthew 12:34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
• 2 Corinthians 11:3I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.
• Psalms 58:4Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears,
• Romans 3:13“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”

Commentaries on Psalms 140:3

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent - Compare the notes at Psalm 64:3. The idea here is, that since the tongue of the serpent “seems” to be sharp, pointed, adapted to penetrate (and probably the original reference in the image was derived from that idea), the wound inflicted is by the serpent‘s tongue - “as if” with a hard, penetrating point. It is now known, however, that it is by a tooth - a single tooth, made flexible for the purpose - at…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3snakes … vipers: These creatures portray the wicked as very corrupt people (see Proverbs 23:32; Isaiah 14:29; Romans 3:13).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-52-5. This character of the wicked, and the devices planned against the pious, correspond to Psa 10:7; 31:13; 58:4, &c.Read the comment
• Rashi on Tanakh · v. 3every day they gather to wage war There will be wars in their dwellings and in their settlements.Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 140:3

• Adder
• Afflictions and Adversities
• Asp
• Malice
• Quotations and Allusions
• Serpent
• Slander
• Speaking

In the dictionaries

• Adder
• Hunt
• Manasseh
• Poison
• Preserve
• Papyrus
• Psalms, Book of
• Serpent

Commentaries on Psalms 140

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• The Treasury of David
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary