But they deceived Him with their mouths, and lied to Him with their tongues.
Parallel translations
- WEB But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue.
- KJV Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.
- NKJV Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue;
- NASB But they flattered Him with their mouth And lied to Him with their tongue.
- NLT But all they gave him was lip service; they lied to him with their tongues.
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 professed devotion was mere flattery and falsehood. Their words did not match their hearts.
Overview
They 'flattered him with their mouth' while lying with their tongues. Their repentance was outward and insincere, honoring God with lips but not lives. Jesus indicts the same hypocrisy in His day (Matthew 15:8), pressing the need for worship that is in spirit and truth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ezek 33:31So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.
- Isa 29:13Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.
- Isa 57:11Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lied and failed to remember Me or take this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear Me?
- Deut 5:28–29And the LORD heard the words you spoke to me, and He said to me, “I have heard the words that these people have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken.
- Ps 106:12–13Then they believed His promises and sang His praise.
- Hos 11:12Ephraim surrounds Me with lies, the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah still walks with God and is faithful to the Holy One.
- Ps 18:44When they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cower before me.
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 78:36 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.