Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
Parallel translations
- KJV Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
- BSB Sharp arrows will come from the warrior, with burning coals of the broom tree!
- NKJV Sharp arrows of the warrior, With coals of the broom tree!
- NASB Sharp arrows of the warrior, With the burning coals of the broom tree!
- NLT You will be pierced with sharp arrows and burned with glowing coals.
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
The answer to the deceitful tongue is sharp warrior's arrows and burning coals. God's judgment on lies is sure and severe.
Overview
This verse completes the previous question, picturing God's recompense on the liar as 'sharp arrows' and glowing 'coals.' The imagery conveys decisive, penetrating, and lasting judgment. It assures the slandered that God will deal justly with deceit, leaving vengeance in His hands rather than ours.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Jas 3:5–8So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest!
- Prov 18:21Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who love it will eat its fruit.
- Prov 19:9A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who utters lies shall perish.
- Ps 45:5Your arrows are sharp. The nations fall under you, with arrows in the heart of the king’s enemies.
- Prov 12:22Lying lips are an abomination to Yahweh, but those who do the truth are his delight.
- Prov 19:5A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who pours out lies shall not go free.
- Prov 16:27A worthless man devises mischief. His speech is like a scorching fire.
- Ps 140:9–11As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
- Ps 52:5God will likewise destroy you forever. He will take you up, and pluck you out of your tent, and root you out of the land of the living. Selah.
- Ps 59:7Behold, they spew with their mouth. Swords are in their lips, “For”, they say, “who hears us?”
- Prov 11:9With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, but the righteous will be delivered through knowledge.
- Ps 57:4My soul is among lions. I lie among those who are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
- Prov 11:12One who despises his neighbor is void of wisdom, but a man of understanding holds his peace.
- Prov 11:18Wicked people earn deceitful wages, but one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
- Deut 32:23–24“I will heap evils on them. I will spend my arrows on them.
- Ps 7:13He has also prepared for himself the instruments of death. He makes ready his flaming arrows.
- Rev 21:8But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
- Prov 18:8The words of a gossip are like dainty morsels: they go down into a person’s innermost parts.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 120:4 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.