Bible Strands
Psalms 5:9
For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses the LORD, describing the character of his hostile enemies immediately after asking for righteous guidance and before pleading for their judgment.
The words — אֵין (‘ein) translates literally as “there not,” establishing the absolute absence of trustworthiness in the enemies’ speech.
The thread — The description of untrustworthy speech and deceitful tongues appears in Jeremiah 9:3, Romans 3:13, and Psalms 62:4.
Why it lands — It demands a clear-eyed assessment of deceptive adversaries, requiring the reader to recognize that outward words conceal destructive intent and to rely on divine justice rather than human testimony.
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
For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
Cross-references
- 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.
- Romans 3:13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”
- Psalms 62:4 They fully intend to cast him down from his lofty perch; they delight in lies; with their mouths they bless, but inwardly they curse. Selah
- Micah 6:12 For the wealthy of the city are full of violence, and its residents speak lies; their tongues are deceitful in their mouths.
- Proverbs 29:5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
- Psalms 51:6 Surely You desire truth in the inmost being; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
- Psalms 52:2 Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.
- Luke 11:44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”
- Psalms 12:2 They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
- Psalms 64:6 They devise injustice and say, “We have perfected a secret plan.” For the inner man and the heart are mysterious.