Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
Parallel translations
- WEB “You give your mouth to evil. Your tongue frames deceit.
- BSB You unleash your mouth for evil and unharness your tongue for deceit.
- NKJV You give your mouth to evil, And your tongue frames deceit.
- NASB “You let your mouth loose in evil, And your tongue harnesses deceit.
- NLT Your mouth is filled with wickedness, and your tongue is full of lies.
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
Their mouths are given over to evil and their tongues weave deceit. Their sins of speech expose their corruption.
Overview
God indicts their misuse of speech: they freely speak evil and craft deceit. The tongue, meant to praise God and bless others, becomes an instrument of wickedness. James warns similarly that blessing God while cursing men reveals an unrenewed heart; true worship requires consistency of word and life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Ps 10:7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
- Ps 52:2–4Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
- Rev 21:8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
- Jer 9:5And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
- Jas 3:5–9Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
- Isa 59:3–4For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
- Ps 5:9For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
- Rom 3:13–14Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
- Ps 55:21The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
- Ps 36:3–4The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.
- Ps 55:12For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
- Ps 64:3–5Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:
- Hos 4:2By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
- Ps 12:2–3They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
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 50:19 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.