Bible Strands
Psalms 59:7
See what they spew from their mouths—sharp words from their lips: “For who can hear us?”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God, describing hostile men who prowl the city at evening and boast that no one can hear or stop them.
The words — חֲרָבוֹת (chaṯāḇôṯ) = swords, and יַבִּיעוּ (yabbîʿû) = they pour forth, literally depicting the enemies discharging weapon-like speech from their lips.
The thread — The metaphor of sharpened speech recurs in Psalms 57:4, where men’s tongues are described as sharpened swords, and in Proverbs 15:2, which contrasts the fool’s mouth that spouts folly with the wise tongue.
Why it lands — The text records the enemies’ arrogant claim that their words operate beyond consequence, while the immediate context shows God’s direct response to their boasts. The reader is asked to note that human threats are measured against divine sovereignty, not ignored by it.
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
Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?
Cross-references
- Psalms 57:4 My 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 10:11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He hides His face and never sees.”
- Proverbs 15:2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.
- Psalms 73:11 The wicked say, “How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?”
- Psalms 10:13 Why has the wicked man renounced God? He says to himself, “You will never call me to account.”
- Psalms 55:21 His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.
- Psalms 64:3 who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows,
- Psalms 94:7 They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.”
- Proverbs 12:18 Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
- Proverbs 15:28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil.