Limitless Word
They pour out words, they speak arrogantly; All who do injustice boast.
Psalms 94:4 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB They pour out arrogant words. All the evildoers boast.
  • KJV How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?
  • BSB They pour out arrogant words; all workers of iniquity boast.
  • NKJV They utter speech, and speak insolent things; All the workers of iniquity boast in themselves.
  • NLT How long will they speak with arrogance? How long will these evil people boast?

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 pour out arrogant words and boast in their evil. Unchecked pride and boastful speech mark those who defy God.

Overview

The psalmist describes the insolence of evildoers who speak proudly and glory in wrongdoing. Their arrogant words reveal hearts that presume God will not respond. Scripture warns that God opposes the proud and will silence every boastful tongue (James 4:6; Psalm 73:8-9).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 23

  • Ps 31:18Let the lying lips be mute, which speak against the righteous insolently, with pride and contempt.
  • Ps 52:1For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, “David has come to Ahimelech’s house.” Why do you boast of mischief, mighty man? God’s loving kindness endures continually.
  • Dan 7:25He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.
  • Rev 13:5–6A mouth speaking great things and blasphemy was given to him. Authority to make war for forty-two months was given to him.
  • Ps 140:3They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Viper’s poison is under their lips. Selah.
  • Jude 1:14–15About these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones,
  • Ps 73:8–9They scoff and speak with malice. In arrogance, they threaten oppression.
  • Matt 12:34You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
  • Jer 18:18Then they said, “Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.”
  • Isa 37:24–25By your servants, have you defied the Lord, and have said, “With the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon. I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees. I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field.
  • Ps 10:2–7In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak. They are caught in the schemes that they devise.
  • Exod 15:9–10The enemy said, ‘I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide the plunder. My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’
  • Isa 10:13–15For he has said, “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures. Like a valiant man I have brought down their rulers.
  • Job 21:14–15They tell God, ‘Depart from us, for we don’t want to know about your ways.
  • Dan 7:8I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
  • Dan 8:11Yes, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the army; and it took away from him the continual burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
  • Ps 59:12For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride, for the curses and lies which they utter.
  • Dan 7:11I saw at that time because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke; I saw even until the animal was slain, and its body destroyed, and it was given to be burned with fire.
  • Matt 12:24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”
  • Ps 59:7Behold, they spew with their mouth. Swords are in their lips, “For”, they say, “who hears us?”
  • Prov 30:14There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and their jaws like knives, to devour the poor from the earth, and the needy from among men.
  • Dan 11:36–37The king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods; and he shall prosper until the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done.
  • Ps 64:3–4who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 94:4YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 94:4 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.