Christian Standard Bible
Psalms 12:4
4They say, “Through our tongues we have power; our lips are our own — who can be our master?”
Psalms 12:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
- New International Version (NIV)those who say, “By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)those who say, "With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; Who is lord over us?”
Context of Psalms 12:4
2They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts. 3May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaks boastfully. They say, “Through our tongues we have power; our lips are our own — who can be our master?” 5“Because of the devastation of the needy and the groaning of the poor, I will now rise up,” says the Lord. “I will provide safety for the one who longs for it.” 6The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times.
Read all of Psalms 12Psalms 12:4 word by word
אֲשֶׁ֤ר אָֽמְר֨וּ׀ לִלְשֹׁנֵ֣נוּ נַ֭גְבִּיר שְׂפָתֵ֣ינוּ אִתָּ֑נוּ מִ֖י אָד֣וֹן לָֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 12:4
- Jeremiah 18:18Then certain ones said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah, for instruction will never be lost from the priest, or counsel from the wise, or a word from the prophet. Come, let’s denounce him and pay no attention to all his words.”
- James 3:5So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest.
- Genesis 3:5“In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
- Exodus 5:2But Pharaoh responded, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by letting Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”
- Job 21:14Yet they say to God, “Leave us alone! We don’t want to know your ways.
- Jeremiah 2:31Evil generation, pay attention to the word of the Lord! Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do my people claim, “We will go where we want; we will no longer come to you”?
- Daniel 3:15Now if you’re ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music, fall down and worship the statue I made. But if you don’t worship it, you will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire — and who is the god who can rescue you from my power?”
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s temple, proclaiming that he himself is God.
Commentaries on Psalms 12:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Our lips are our own - Many think, because they have the faculty of speaking, that therefore they may speak what they please. Old MS - The qwilk sayd, our toung we sal wyrchip, our lippes er of us, qwas our Lorde? Tha Ypocrites worchepes thair toung; for that hee tham self janglyng and settes in thaire pouste to do mykil thyng and grete: and thai rose tham that thair lippes that es thair facund and thair wyls er of tham self, nought of God, ne of haly…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Who have said - Who habitually say. This does not mean that they had formally and openly said this - for none would be likely to do so - but that they had practically and really said this by their conduct. They acted as if it were the real principle on which they framed their lives, that they might use their tongues as they pleased. With our tongue - literally, “as to,” or “in respect to our tongue;” that is, by our tongue. It was by the tongue that they…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The words they say reveal the character of the wicked. They deceive and overpower the godly and arrogantly question the Lord’s purposes.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-43-4. Boasting (Da 7:25) is, like flattery, a species of lying. lips, and ... tongue--for persons.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 12:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- 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
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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