New International Version
Psalms 12:3
3May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue—
Psalms 12:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:
- English Standard Version (ESV)May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,
- New King James Version (NKJV)May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, And the tongue that speaks proud things,
- New Living Translation (NLT)May the Lord cut off their flattering lips and silence their boastful tongues.
Context of Psalms 12:3
1Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race. 2Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts. May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue— 4those who say, “By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?” 5“Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will protect them from those who malign them.”
Read all of Psalms 12Psalms 12:3 word by word
יַכְרֵ֣ת יְ֭הוָה כָּל־שִׂפְתֵ֣י חֲלָק֑וֹת לָ֝שׁ֗וֹן מְדַבֶּ֥רֶת גְּדֹלֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- shall cut offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772
- all flatteringחֶלְקָהchelqâh · portionH2513
- lipsשָׂפָהώâphâh ώepheth · lipsH8193
- the tongueלָשׁוֹןlâshôn lâshôn leshônâh · tongueH3956
- that speakethדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- proudגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
Cross-references for Psalms 12:3
- Job 32:22for if I were skilled in flattery, my Maker would soon take me away.
- Psalms 17:10They close up their callous hearts, and their mouths speak with arrogance.
- Psalms 73:8They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.
- Exodus 15:9The enemy boasted, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.’
- 1 Samuel 2:3“Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.
- 1 Samuel 17:43He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
- 2 Kings 19:23By your messengers you have ridiculed the Lord. And you have said, “With my many chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of its junipers. I have reached its remotest parts, the finest of its forests.
- Isaiah 10:10As my hand seized the kingdoms of the idols, kingdoms whose images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria—
- Ezekiel 28:2“Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “ ‘In the pride of your heart you say, “I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas.” But you are a mere mortal and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god.
- Ezekiel 29:3Speak to him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “ ‘I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, you great monster lying among your streams. You say, “The Nile belongs to me; I made it for myself.”
- Daniel 4:30he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
- Daniel 7:8“While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
- Malachi 3:13“You have spoken arrogantly against me,” says the Lord. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?’
- 2 Peter 2:18For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.
- Jude 1:16These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.
- Revelation 13:5The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months.
Commentaries on Psalms 12:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Proud things - גדלות gedoloth, great things; great swelling words, both in their promises and in their commendations.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The Lord shall cut off - This might be rendered, “May the Lord cut off,” implying a wish on the part of the psalmist that it might occur. But probably the common rendering is the correct one. It is the statement of a solemn truth, designed for warning, that all such persons would be punished. All flattering lips - The meaning is, that he will cut off all “persons” who use flattery; that is, he will cut them off from the favors which he will show to his…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-4Evil becomes so widespread that the godly pray for rescue (Isaiah 57:1; Micah 7:2; compare Psalms 1:6; 37:20; 58:7; 104:35).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 12:3
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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