¶“Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth And he hides it under his tongue,
Parallel translations
- WEB “Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue,
- KJV Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;
- BSB Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue,
- NKJV “Though evil is sweet in his mouth, And he hides it under his tongue,
- NLT “They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness, letting it melt under their tongue.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Zophar pictures wickedness as something sweet that the wicked man savors and hides under his tongue. Sin's pleasure is real but deceptive.
Overview
Using the image of a delicious morsel kept in the mouth, Zophar describes how the wicked man cherishes and prolongs the pleasure of his sin. The metaphor captures sin's genuine but treacherous sweetness. Scripture warns that such pleasures are fleeting and turn bitter, contrasting the temporary delight of sin with the lasting joy found in God (Hebrews 11:25).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Job 15:16how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks iniquity like water!
- Ps 10:7His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression. Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
- Eccl 11:9Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
- Prov 9:17–18“Stolen water is sweet. Food eaten in secret is pleasant.”
- Prov 20:17Fraudulent food is sweet to a man, but afterwards his mouth is filled with gravel.
- Gen 3:6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took some of its fruit, and ate; and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate it, too.
- Ps 109:17–18Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him. He didn’t delight in blessing, and it was far from him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 20:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.