The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and well-doing.
Parallel translations
- WEB The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
- KJV The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.
- NKJV The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
- NASB The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
- NLT Everything they say is crooked and deceitful. They refuse to act wisely or do good.
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 wicked man's words are full of iniquity and deceit, and he has abandoned wisdom and goodness. Corruption shows in his speech and conduct.
Overview
David traces the fruit of godlessness: lying and harmful speech, and the deliberate forsaking of wisdom and good. What begins as no fear of God (v.1) issues in deceitful words and a settled abandonment of right living. Such description underscores humanity's need for the transforming grace that makes the tongue and life new in Christ (Ephesians 4:29).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Jer 4:22“For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”
- Ps 55:21His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.
- Matt 22:15–18Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words.
- 1 Jn 2:19They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.
- Ps 10:7His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; trouble and malice are under his tongue.
- Ps 58:3The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth.
- 1 Sam 13:13–14“You have acted foolishly,” Samuel declared. “You have not kept the command that the LORD your God gave you; if you had, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
- Zeph 1:6and those who turn back from following the LORD, neither seeking the LORD nor inquiring of Him.”
- Ps 12:2–3They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
- Ps 94:8Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise?
- 1 Sam 11:6–13When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he burned with great anger.
- 1 Sam 16:14After the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, a spirit of distress from the LORD began to torment him.
- Ps 125:5But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.
- 1 Sam 19:6–7Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and swore an oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be put to death.”
- Heb 10:39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
- Matt 22:35One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question:
- 1 Sam 18:21“I will give her to David,” Saul thought, “so that she may be a snare to him, and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “For a second time now you can be my son-in-law.”
- 1 Sam 26:21Then Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. I will never harm you again, because today you considered my life precious. I have played the fool and have committed a grave error!”
- Ps 140:3They sharpen their tongues like snakes; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah
- Ps 5:9For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.
- 1 Sam 15:26“I will not return with you,” Samuel replied. “For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and He has rejected you as king over Israel.”
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 36:3 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.