His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
Parallel translations
- WEB His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression. Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
- KJV His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
- BSB His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; trouble and malice are under his tongue.
- NKJV His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.
- NASB His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression; Under his tongue is harm and injustice.
- NLT Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats. Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression, with malice under his tongue. Corrupt speech reveals a corrupt heart.
Overview
The psalmist describes speech overflowing with curses, lies, and threats. Paul cites this verse in Romans 3:14 as part of his indictment of universal human sinfulness. It shows that the tongue exposes the heart's true condition and that all stand in need of the righteousness God provides in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 26
- Ps 7:14Behold, he travails with iniquity. Yes, he has conceived mischief, and brought out falsehood.
- Ps 140:9As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
- Ps 144:11Rescue me, and deliver me out of the hands of foreigners, whose mouths speak deceit, whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
- Ps 64:3who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words,
- Jas 3:6–8And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna.
- Ps 52:4You love all devouring words, you deceitful tongue.
- Job 20:12“Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue,
- Jer 9:3“They bend their tongue, as their bow, for falsehood; and they have grown strong in the land, but not for truth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they don’t know me,” says Yahweh.
- Ps 140:3They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Viper’s poison is under their lips. Selah.
- Ps 59:12For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride, for the curses and lies which they utter.
- Ps 36:3The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
- Ps 73:8They scoff and speak with malice. In arrogance, they threaten oppression.
- Ps 41:6If he comes to see me, he speaks falsehood. His heart gathers iniquity to itself. When he goes abroad, he tells it.
- Jer 9:6Your habitation is in the middle of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me,” says Yahweh.
- Matt 12:34You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- Ps 62:4They fully intend to throw him down from his lofty place. They delight in lies. They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.
- Prov 21:6Getting treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor for those who seek death.
- Ps 55:21His mouth was smooth as butter, but his heart was war. His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.
- Ps 58:3The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
- Ps 5:9For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their heart is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb. They flatter with their tongue.
- Rom 3:13–14“Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit.” “The poison of vipers is under their lips”;
- Prov 30:8Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me;
- Isa 59:4No one sues in righteousness, and no one pleads in truth. They trust in vanity, and speak lies. They conceive mischief, and give birth to iniquity.
- Job 15:35They conceive mischief, and produce iniquity. Their heart prepares deceit.”
- Ps 12:2Everyone lies to his neighbor. They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart.
- Ps 144:8whose mouths speak deceit, Whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 10:7 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.