Psalms 64 · Verse 3

Psalms 64:3

Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:
Psalms 64:3, King James Version

Psalms 64:3 in other translations

BSBwho sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows,
WEBwho sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words,
ASVWho have whet their tongue like a sword, And have aimed their arrows, even bitter words,
YLTWho sharpened as a sword their tongue, They directed their arrow--a bitter word.
DARBYWho have sharpened their tongue like a sword, and have aimed their arrow, a bitter word;
BBEWho make their tongues sharp like a sword, and whose arrows are pointed, even bitter words;
WebsterWho whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

What does Psalms 64:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Psalms 64:3-4
3-4. Similar figures for slander (Psa 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 Psa 58:7, transferred to arrows.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 Who whet their tongue like a sword - They devise the evil they shall speak, and meditate on the most provoking, injurious, and defamatory words; as the soldier whets his sword that he may thereby the better cut down his enemies. Their arrows - bitter words - Their defamatory sayings are here represented as deadly as poisoned arrows; for to such is the allusion here made.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalms 64:1-6

The psalmist earnestly begs of God to preserve him from disquieting fear. The tongue is a little member, but it boasts great things. The upright man is the mark at which the wicked aim, they cannot speak peaceably either of him or to him. There is no guard against a false tongue. It is bad to do wrong, but worse to encourage ourselves and one another in it. It is a sign that the heart is hardened to the greatest…

Read the full comment on Psalms 64:1-6 →

Psalms 64:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

אֲשֶׁ֤ר'a.SherwhoH834
שָׁנְנ֣וּsha.ne.Nuthey sharpenH8150
כַחֶ֣רֶבkha.Che.revlike <the> swordH2719
לְשׁוֹנָ֑םle.sho.Namtongue theirH3956
דָּרְכ֥וּda.re.Khuthey bendH1869
חִ֝צָּ֗םchi.Tzamarrow theirH2671
דָּבָ֥רda.Vara wordH1697
מָֽר\׃MarbitterH4751

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Psalms 64:3

  • Jeremiah 9:3

    And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.

  • Psalms 57:4

    My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

  • Psalms 58:7

    Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.

  • James 3:6-8

    And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

  • Psalms 11:2

    For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.

  • Isaiah 54:17

    No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

  • Proverbs 12:18

    There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.

  • Proverbs 30:14

    There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
whet.
57:4; Pr 12:18; 30:14; Isa 54:17; Jer 9:3; Jas 3:6-8
bend.
11:2; 58:7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Psalms 64:2

    Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:

  • Psalms 64:3

    Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

  • Psalms 64:4

    That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.

Read all of Psalms 64

Psalms 64:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Que amolaron su lengua como cuchillo, y armaron por su saeta palabra amarga;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Cache-moi loin du conseil secret des méchants, et de la foule tumultueuse des ouvriers d’iniquité,
German
Elberfelder 1871		Welche ihre Zunge geschärft haben gleich einem Schwerte, ihren Pfeil angelegt, bitteres Wort,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Exaudi orationem meam; ad te omnis caro veniet.