Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue;
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.
- BSB But they deceived Him with their mouths, and lied to Him with their tongues.
- 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 33:31They come to you as the people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but don’t do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their gain.
- Isa 29:13The Lord said, “Because this people draws near with their mouth and with their lips to honor me, but they have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which has been taught;
- Isa 57:11“Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lie, and have not remembered me, nor laid it to your heart? Haven’t I held my peace for a long time, and you don’t fear me?
- Deut 5:28–29Yahweh heard the voice of your words, when you spoke to me; and Yahweh said to me, “I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They have well said all that they have spoken.
- Ps 106:12–13Then they believed his words. They sang his praise.
- Hos 11:12Ephraim surrounds me with falsehood, and the house of Israel with deceit. Judah still strays from God, and is unfaithful to the Holy One.
- Ps 18:44As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me. The foreigners shall submit themselves to 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
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