3 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And aim their arrows, deadly words,
Let them vanish as water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.
For, behold, the wicked bend their bows. They set their arrows on the strings, That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
There is one who speaks rashly like the piercing of a sword, But the tongue of the wise heals.
There 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.
They bend their tongue, [as it were] their bow, for falsehood; and they are grown strong in the land, but not for truth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they don't know me, says Yahweh.
And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna.{Gehenna is a name that describes a burning Hell with rotting bodies and unclean things in it} For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and thing in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind. But nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 64
Commentary on Psalms 64 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 64
Ps 64:1-10. A prayer for deliverance from cunning and malicious enemies, with a confident view of their overthrow, which will honor God and give joy to the righteous.
1. preserve … fear—as well as the danger producing it.
2. insurrection—literally, "uproar," noisy assaults, as well as their secret counsels.
3, 4. Similar figures for slander (Ps 57:4; 59:7).
bend—literally, "tread," or, "prepared." The allusion is to the mode of bending a bow by treading on it; here, and in Ps 58:7, transferred to arrows.
4. the perfect—one innocent of the charges made (Ps 18:23).
fear not—(Ps 55:19), not regarding God.
5. A sentiment here more fully presented, by depicting their deliberate malice.
6. This is further evinced by their diligent efforts and deeply laid schemes.
7. The contrast is heightened by representing God as using weapons like theirs.
8. their … tongue to fall, &c.—that is, the consequences of their slanders, &c. (compare Ps 10:2; 31:16).
all that see … away—Their partners in evil shall be terrified.
9, 10. Men, generally, will acknowledge God's work, and the righteous, rejoicing in it, shall be encouraged to trust Him (Ps 58:10).