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Psalms 140:3

“They sharpen their tongue like a serpent; the venom of an asp is under their lips. Selah.”

Psalms 140:3 · direct translation from the Hebrew
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With the Hebrew beneath

3

Quotation · Romans 3:13

Go to Romans 3:13

The series continues with Psalm 140:3: “the venom of asps is under their lips.”

Formula: καθὼς γέγραπται ὅτι “as it is written” (Romans 3:10)

See the original texts

Greek of the New Testament: τάφος ἀνεῳγμένος ὁ λάρυγξ αὐτῶν ταῖς γλώσσαις αὐτῶν ἐδολιοῦσαν ἰὸς ἀσπίδων ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν

Hebrew (Masoretic text): שָׁנֲנוּ לְשׁוֹנָם כְּמוֹ נָחָשׁ חֲמַת עַכְשׁוּב תַּחַת שְׂפָתֵימוֹ סֶלָה

Septuagint (Psalms 139:4 in the Septuagint numbering): ἠκόνησαν γλῶσσαν αὐτῶν ῶσεὶ ὄφεως, ἰὸς ἀσπίδων ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν. διάψαλμα.

The Greek of the NT matches the Septuagint word for word in 6 consecutive words: “ἰὸς ἀσπίδων ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν.”

Septuagint, Swete’s text, First1KGreek transcription (with reading errors), CC BY-SA 4.0

Psalms 140:3, word by word

They sharpenשָׁנֲנוּshananu

sharpen

To hone a sword, arrows, or the tongue.

Where else “shananu” appears
their tongueלְשׁוֹנָleshona

tongue

The organ in the mouth used to taste and speak; hence, what one says.

Where else “leshona” appears
like a serpentנָחָשׁnachash

serpent

A legless reptile that crawls and often bites with venom.

Where else “nachash” appears
the venomחֲמַתchamat

venom

The venom of serpents, which burns inside.

Where else “chamat” appears
of an aspעַכְשׁוּבachshuv

viper

A viper, a venomous snake that hides coiled up.

Where else “achshuv” appears
their lipsשְׂפָתֵיsefate

lip

The part of the mouth with which one speaks, and so what one says.

Where else “sefate” appears
Selahסֶלָהsela

Selah

Selah: a word found at the end of some stanzas of the psalms. It is probably a direction for the music or a pause; its exact sense is unknown, so it is left in Hebrew.

Where else “sela” appears

Translation note

The apostle Paul quotes the second line in Romans 3:13.

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

Quotation · Romans 3:13

The series continues with Psalm 140:3: “the venom of asps is under their lips.”

See them side by side

Psalms 140:3

3They sharpen their tongue like a serpent; the venom of an asp is under their lips. Selah.

Romans 3:13

13An open grave is their throat; with their tongues they deceive; the venom of asps is under their lips;

The context

2who devise evils in the heart; every day they stir up wars.

3 · This verse (above)

4Keep me, YHWH, from the hands of the wicked; from the man of violent deeds guard me, who have devised to thrust aside my steps.

Read all of Psalms 140

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