Bible Strands
Psalms 12:4
They say, “With our tongues we will prevail. We own our lips—who can be our master?”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The arrogant speakers declare their defiance in direct response to the psalmist’s prayer against boastful tongues. They assert their independence to an implied audience of God and humanity.
The words — נַגְבִּיר (Nag.bir) translates literally as "we will make strong" or prevail, while אָדוֹן ('a.Don) means "master." These terms anchor the speaker’s claim of self-sufficiency and rejection of authority.
The thread — This theme of defiant speech appears in Exodus 5:2 when Pharaoh questions God’s authority, in Job 21:14 where the proud reject God’s ways, and in James 3:5 regarding the tongue’s capacity for arrogance.
Why it lands — The text demands the reader confront the reality that self-exaltation through speech invites divine opposition. It requires acknowledging that human authority is subordinate to God’s judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
Cross-references
- James 3:5 In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze.
- Exodus 5:2 But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
- Job 21:14 Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4 He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
- Jeremiah 18:18 Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”
- Daniel 3:15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue I have made, very good. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”
- Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
- Jeremiah 2:31 You people of this generation, consider the word of the LORD: “Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to You no more’?