Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.
Parallel translations
- WEB An evil speaker won’t be established in the earth. Evil will hunt the violent man to overthrow him.
- BSB May no slanderer be established in the land; may calamity hunt down the man of violence.
- NKJV Let not a slanderer be established in the earth; Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”
- NASB “May a slanderer not endure on the earth; May evil hunt a violent person violently.”
- NLT Don’t let liars prosper here in our land. Cause great disasters to fall on the violent.
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 slanderer will not be established in the earth, and evil will hunt down the violent man. It affirms that wickedness ultimately destroys itself.
Overview
David expresses confidence that evil speech and violence have no lasting foundation; the very evil they pursue will pursue and overthrow them. This is a settled principle of God's moral order. The stability David lacked among enemies belongs finally to the righteous in Christ, who alone cannot be ultimately shaken (Psalm 1:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 34:21Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
- Prov 18:21Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
- Prov 13:21Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.
- Isa 3:11Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
- Prov 17:20He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.
- Prov 6:17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
- Ps 7:14–16Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
- Ps 12:3–4The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:
- Prov 12:13The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.
- Ps 9:16The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 140:11 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.