Psalm 139 v3: Sins of the tongue

Verse 3 of Psalm 139 can be interpreted Christologically as a reference to the plotting of the Pharisees and chief priests, and spiritually as a reference to the sins of heresy, calumny, detraction, abuse and deception.

Looking at the Latin

Phrase by phrase

Acuérunt linguas suas sicut serpéntis: venénum áspidum sub lábiis eórum

They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips.

Here the words of the evil men of the previous verses are compared to venomous snakes, waiting to strike.

Word by word:

Acuérunt (They sharpened) linguas (the tongues) suas (their) sicut (like) serpéntis (snakes): * venénum (the venom) áspidum (of vipers) sub (under) lábiis (the lips) eórum (their).

The key vocabulary for the verse is:

acuo ui utum ere 3 to make sharp or pointed; whet, sharpen

serpens, entis,  a creeping thing, a reptile; a snake, serpent

venenum i n venom, poison

The Latin translations

The differences between the Vulgate and the other Latin versions of this verse are minimal: the Pian 'corrects' sicut serpentis to  ut serpens, while St Jerome’s version from the Hebrew provides only minor variants:

3	V/OR/NV	Acuérunt linguas suas sicut serpéntis: * venénum áspidum sub lábiis eórum.
	Pian	Acuunt linguas suas ut serpens: Venenum aspidum sub labiis eorum.
	JH	Exacuerunt linguam suam quasi serpens; uenenum aspidis sub labiis eorum.
	Sept	ἠκόνησαν γλῶσσαν αὐτῶν ὡσεὶ ὄφεως  ἰὸς ἀσπίδων ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν διάψαλμα

[Abbreviations: V=Vulgate; OR=Old Roman; NV=Neo-Vulgate; Jh=St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint]

As a result the English translations generally don't differ much in substance:

DR	They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips.
Brenton	They have sharpened their tongue as [the tongue] of a serpent; the poison of asps is under their lips.
MD	They sharpen their tongues like that of a serpent, the poison of asps is under their lips.
RSV	They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's, and under their lips is the poison of vipers
Cover	They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adder’s poison is under their lips.
Knox	tongues sharp as the tongues of serpents, lips that hide the poison of adders.
Grail	who sharpen their tongue like an adder's, with the poison of viper on their lips.

[Abbreviations: DR=Douay-Rheims Challoner; MD=Monastic Diurnal; RSV=Revised Standard Version; Cover=Coverdale]

In Scripture

This verse is quoted twice in the New Testament, first by St Paul in Romans 3:

No, not at all; for I have already charged that all men, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have gone wrong; no one does good, not even one." "Their throat is an open grave, they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips."

and secondly in St James 3:

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no human being can tame the tongue -- a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so.

It is also repeated - at least in older psalters, though culled from modern ones on the basis that it is a textual error - in Psalm 13:3:

3   Omnes declinaverunt, simul inutiles facti sunt. Non est qui faciat bonum, non est usque ad unum. Sepulchrum patens est guttur eorum; linguis suis dolose agebant. Venenum aspidum sub labiis eorum, quorum os maledictione et amaritudine plenum est; veloces pedes eorum ad effundendum sanguinem. Contritio et infelicitas in viis eorum, et viam pacis non cognoverunt; non est timor Dei ante oculos eorum.

3   They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good, no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre: with their tongues they acted deceitfully; the poison of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and unhappiness in their ways: and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes.

Heretics?

St Cassiodorus draws on St Paul to suggest that the verse refers to the 'malice and guile of heretics':

Tongues denotes their words which are polished on the whetstones of wickedness and seek to wound the hearts of simple people. They are aptly matched with serpents, for they vomit forth poison in their words and so are compared with deaf asps. The purpose of their striving is the desire in their obstinacy of mind never to be overcome by the truth. This figure is known as parabole? for objects unlike each other in kind are compared in their debased natures.

Abuse, calumny, detraction and deception

St Robert Bellarmine perhaps follows St James more closely, pointing to sins of calumny, detraction and the like:

The second persecution of our enemies is that of the tongue, which consists in calumny, detraction, abuse, deception, and the like, resorted to by our fellow creatures, either through selfishness or through revenge, and by the evil spirit, with a view of provoking man to impatience or anger, or hatred of his neighbor, and to the sins consequent thereon. 

The key to avoiding such sins is given in the next psalm, which asks God to set a watch over our mouth and a gate over our lips, so that we avoid saying what should not be said. 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm of David.
1 Eripe me, Dómine, ab hómine malo: * a viro iníquo éripe me.	Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man.
2 Qui cogitavérunt iniquitátes in corde: * tota die constituébant prælia.	3 Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.
3 Acuérunt linguas suas sicut serpéntis: * venénum áspidum sub lábiis eórum.	4 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips.
4 Custódi me, Dómine, de manu peccatóris: * et ab homínibus iníquis éripe me.	5 Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked: and from unjust men deliver me.
5 Qui cogitavérunt supplantáre gressus meos: * abscondérunt supérbi láqueum mihi:	Who have proposed to supplant my steps: 6 The proud have hidden a net for me.
6 Et funes extendérunt in láqueum: * juxta iter scándalum posuérunt mihi.	And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumbling block by the wayside.
7. Dixi Dómino : Deus meus es tu: * exáudi, Dómine, vocem deprecatiónis meæ.	7 I said to the Lord: You are my God: hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication.
8 Dómine, Dómine, virtus salútis meæ: * obumbrásti super caput meum in die belli.	8 O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation: you have overshadowed my head in the day of battle.
9 Ne tradas me, Dómine, a desidério meo peccatóri: * cogitavérunt contra me, ne derelínquas me, ne forte exalténtur.	9 Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not forsake me, lest they should triumph.
10 Caput circúitus eórum: * labor labiórum ipsórum opériet eos.	10 The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them.
11 Cadent super eos carbónes, in ignem dejícies eos: * in misériis non subsístent.	11 Burning coals shall fall upon them; you will cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand.
12 Vir linguósus non dirigétur in terra: * virum injústum mala cápient in intéritu.	12 A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction.
13 Cognóvi quia fáciet Dóminus judícium ínopis: * et vindíctam páuperum.	13 I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor.
14 Verúmtamen justi confitebúntur nómini tuo: * et habitábunt recti cum vultu tuo.	14 But as for the just, they shall give glory to your name: and the upright shall dwell with your countenance.

And for notes on verse 4 of Psalm 139, continue on here.

Psalm 139 verse 2: We are at war

Verse  2 of Psalm 139 is a reminder that we are constantly called upon to wage spiritual warfare, since the enemy never ceases planning his assaults on us.

Looking at the Latin

Phrase by phrase, using the Douay-Rheims:

Qui cogitavérunt iniquitátes in corde tota die constituébant prælia.

Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.

Tota die (all day long) here really means ceasely, or continually (as the Revised Standard Version suggests, see below), or always (as in the Knox translation).

Praelia literally means battles, and the whole psalm serves as a reminder that in this world we must always conisder ourselves soldiers of Christ, contending against the world, the flesh and the devil.  All the same, in the context of the psalmists complaints about slander and eother evil words, the translation of the word as 'strife' or perhaps 'trouble' also works.

The verb cogitaverunt (they thought, planned) is important, as it recurs in various forms through the psalm, and its repetition - rather than use of other synonmyms  - can be seen as setting in contrast the total knowledge and Providential plan of God reflected on in Psam 138, and the knowledge of faith of the good person, with the twisted and evil thoughts of evildoers.

Word by word:

Qui (who) cogitavérunt (pf: they have thought/planned) iniquitátes (evil) in corde (in the heart): * tota (all) die (the day) constituébant (they were devising/designing/planning) prælia (battles/war).

The key vocabulary for the verse is:

cogito, avi, atum, are to think, plan, devise, take counsel.

iniquitas, atis, f iniquity, injustice, sin.

cor, cordis, n., the heart, regarded as the seat of the faculties, feelings, emotions, passions; the mind, the soul.

totus a um all, the whole

dies, ei, m. and f fem.  a day, the natural day

constituo, stitui, tutum, ere 3  to set, place, put, appoint; o make, create; build, found; devise, design; fix, mark out.

praelium, ii, n., war, battle, contention, disputes

The various translations below provide more of the sense of the verse, with the Knox perhaps providing the most poetic rendering, describing those who devote their entire day to stirring up trouble:

DR	Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.
Brenton	Who have devised injustice in their hearts; all the day they prepared war.
MD	Who devise evil in their hearts and daily stir up strifes.
RSV	who plan evil things in their heart, and stir up wars continually.
Cover	who imagine mischief in their hearts, and stir up strife all the day long.
Knox	always plotting treachery in their hearts, always at their quarrelling,
Grail	from those who plan evil in their hearts and stir up strife every day;

[Abbreviations: DR=Douay-Rheims Challoner; MD=Monastic Diurnal; RSV=Revised Standard Version; Cover=Coverdale]

The key Latin translations of this verse vary mainly in the synonyms used for evil doers:

2	V	Qui cogitavérunt iniquitátes in corde: tota die constituébant prælia.
	OR	qui cogitaverunt malitias in corde tota die constitubant proelia
	NV	Qui cogitaverunt mala in corde, tota die constituebant proelia.
	Pian	Ab iis qui cogitant mala in corde, Omni die excitant lites,
	JH	quia cogitaverunt malitias in corde; tota die versati sunt in proeliis.
	Sept	οἵτινες ἐλογίσαντο ἀδικίας ἐν καρδίᾳ ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν παρετάσσοντο πολέμους

[Abbreviations: V=Vulgate; OR=Old Roman; NV=Neo-Vulgate; Jh=St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint]

The Pian (Bea), though, changes the tense of the verb in the opening phrase from perfect (ie they are/have  always/continuously been plotting), to present (they are plotting), a rather substantial change in meaning on the face of it.  It also changes proelia (battles, combat, war) to the noun lis (a strife, dispute, quarrel, altercation), rather softening the sense of the verse.

The heart of good and evil

The three psalms of Thursday Vespers focus heavily on our inner dispositions.  In Psalm 138, the speaker invites God to search our heart and mind, lest we have fallen into evil ways; in Psalm 140 that follows this one, the psalmist asks God's help to not let his heart incline to evil words, or to make excuses for sins.

By contrast, the wicked man has no such desire for insight or correction, but rather acts as if God doesn't exist, thinking that his secrets remain just that.

St Augustine saw this verse as directed against those who plot in secret:

For easy is it to avoid open enmities, easy is it to turn aside from an enemy declared and manifest, while iniquity is in his lips as well as his heart; he is a troublesome enemy, he is secret, he is with difficulty avoided, who bears good things in his lips, while in his heart he conceals evil things. 

And contrary to the interpretation of the Bea Psalter, St Augustine was clear that what is being talked about here is a continuous state of outright war:

Be it sedition, be it schism, be it heresy, be it turbulent opposition, it springs not save from these imaginings which were concealed, and while they spoke good words with their lips, all the day long did they make war. You hear words of peace, yet making war departs not from their thoughts. For the words, all the day long, signify without intermission, throughout the whole time. 

God though, knows the innermost thoughts of everyone, hence our total dependnece on him as St Robert Bellarmine commented:

He assigns a reason for having said, “Deliver me,” and the reason is because he was assailed through thought, word, and deed; and so repeatedly, that they might be called daily, without intermission or truce; and the Apostle, therefore, justly exhorts us “to put on the armor of God,” or, as the Greek has it, all sorts of armor, to wit, the helmet, coat of mail, shield, and sword, to enable us to offer the necessary resistance, and to stand perfect in every respect...They never ceased arranging the plans of battle they had previously decided on. 

Bellarmine's commentary goes on to suggest that the plural used for those plotting makes clear that the evil man of the first verse is not just a particular individual:

Who have devised iniquity in their hearts.” This proves that the expression, “the evil man,” in the first verse, is not intended for an individual, such as Saul, but for a lot of evil men, be they demons or men;

He also suggested, though, that the enemy can mean that which operates within us:

All this may, possibly, refer to the interior struggle within us, in respect of bad thoughts the prince of darkness turns up to us; such as unchaste thoughts, temptations, infidelities to grace, scruples, and mental perplexities; all the source of much annoyance and trouble.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm of David.
1 Eripe me, Dómine, ab hómine malo: * a viro iníquo éripe me.	Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man.
2 Qui cogitavérunt iniquitátes in corde: * tota die constituébant prælia.	3 Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.
3 Acuérunt linguas suas sicut serpéntis: * venénum áspidum sub lábiis eórum.	4 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips.
4 Custódi me, Dómine, de manu peccatóris: * et ab homínibus iníquis éripe me.	5 Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked: and from unjust men deliver me.
5 Qui cogitavérunt supplantáre gressus meos: * abscondérunt supérbi láqueum mihi:	Who have proposed to supplant my steps: 6 The proud have hidden a net for me.
6 Et funes extendérunt in láqueum: * juxta iter scándalum posuérunt mihi.	And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumbling block by the wayside.
7. Dixi Dómino : Deus meus es tu: * exáudi, Dómine, vocem deprecatiónis meæ.	7 I said to the Lord: You are my God: hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication.
8 Dómine, Dómine, virtus salútis meæ: * obumbrásti super caput meum in die belli.	8 O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation: you have overshadowed my head in the day of battle.
9 Ne tradas me, Dómine, a desidério meo peccatóri: * cogitavérunt contra me, ne derelínquas me, ne forte exalténtur.	9 Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not forsake me, lest they should triumph.
10 Caput circúitus eórum: * labor labiórum ipsórum opériet eos.	10 The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them.
11 Cadent super eos carbónes, in ignem dejícies eos: * in misériis non subsístent.	11 Burning coals shall fall upon them; you will cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand.
12 Vir linguósus non dirigétur in terra: * virum injústum mala cápient in intéritu.	12 A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction.
13 Cognóvi quia fáciet Dóminus judícium ínopis: * et vindíctam páuperum.	13 I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor.
14 Verúmtamen justi confitebúntur nómini tuo: * et habitábunt recti cum vultu tuo.	14 But as for the just, they shall give glory to your name: and the upright shall dwell with your countenance.

And for the next part in this series on Psalm 139, continue on here.

Psalm 139 verse 1: Save us from the enemy

The first verse of Psalm 139 is a plea for help.

Understanding the literal meaning of the Latin

A word by word translation would be:

Eripe (free, imperative) me, Dómine (O Lord), ab (from+abl) hómine (men) malo (evil): * a (from) viro (men) iníquo (wicked) éripe (free) me.

Or phrase by phrase, using the Douay-Rheims:

Eripe me, Dómine, ab hómine malo: a viro iníquo  éripe me.

Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: from the unjust man  rescue me.

The key vocabulary for the verse is:

eripio, ripui, reptum, ere 3  to snatch away, to rescue, deliver; to tear out, snatch away, wrest, pluck, tear, take away

homo, inis, m  man, a human being; mortal man as compared with God; person, individual 

malus, a, um, adj., bad, evil, wicked; grievous, sore, severe; subst., malum, i, n., evil, sin; woe, harm, misfortune.

vir, viri, m., a man

iniquus, a, um, unjust, godless, wicked; As a subst.  the wicked, the godless, the unjust (man or men); evil-doers.

At first glance this verse seems like a classic case of paralellism: in the Vulgate version we are given two synonyms for the enemy, the evil man, and the wicked man, with both homo and vir understood as referring to men in general, rather than a particular individual (see the plurals in verse 3-4 below).  St Jerome's version from the Hebrew follows the same text tradition, and reflects the theme of the psalm that the main sin committed by those against the psalmist is slander.  

The Hebrew Masoretic Text however makes the second half of the verse the 'violent man' (חָמָס, chamac), and the Pian and neo-Vulgate versions follow suit:

1	V/OR	Eripe me, Dómine, ab hómine malo: * a viro iníquo éripe me.
	NV	Eripe me, Domine, ab homine malo, a viro violentiae serva me.
	Pian	Eripe me, Domine, ab homine malo, A viro violento custodi me:
	JH	Erue me, Domine, ab homine malo ; a uiris iniquis serua me:
	Sept	ἐξελοῦ με κύριε ἐξ ἀνθρώπου πονηροῦ ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς ἀδίκου ῥῦσαί με

[Abbreviations: V=Vulgate; OR=Old Roman; NV=Neo-Vulgate; Jh=St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint]

The twentieth century Pian version also makes a subtle but perhaps important change in the meaning of the verse: instead of repeating the plea to God to save or rescue us, it asks him to guard us. Several twentieth century translations, such as the Collegeville contained in the Monastic Diurnal, follow suit.

DR	Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man.
Brenton	Rescue me, O Lord, from the evil man; deliver me from the unjust man.
MD	Deliver me O Lord from evil men save me from men of violence
RSV	Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; preserve me from violent men,
Cover	Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man, and preserve me from the wicked man,
Knox	Rescue me, Lord, from human malice, save me from the lovers of oppression,
Grail	Rescue me, Lord, from evil men; from the violent keep me safe

[Abbreviations: DR=Douay-Rheims Challoner; MD=Monastic Diurnal; RSV=Revised Standard Version; Cover=Coverdale]

A plea for help

The psalms starts with a plea for help from God, which should be viewed, I think, as an acknowledgement that without God's grace, our own efforts are futile.

Who is it we need help to save us from?

So who, then, is the enemy the psalmist is asking for help against?

St Augustine argued that the verse is talking first and foremost about the devil, but also from those acting under his influence:

Not from one only, but from the class; not from the vessels only, but from their prince himself, that is, the devil. Why from man, if he means from the devil? Because he too is called a man in a figure. ...Now then being made light, not in ourselves, but in the Lord, let us pray not only against darkness, that is, against sinners, whom still the devil possesses, but also against their prince, the devil himself, who works in the children of disobedience.

In this then, we can see the seeds of the Christological interpretation of the psalm, which sees the verse as referring to Judas and the Jewish authorities plotting against Christ.

Dealing with the enemy

St Augustine's commentary includes a key warning against complacency in dealing with the enemy (taking a slant on the verse at odds with the Pian interpretation), warning that even those don't seem to pose an immediate threat can be dangerous:

For he called him wicked because unrighteous, lest perchance you should think that any unrighteous man could be a good man. For many unrighteous men seem to be harmless; they are not fierce, are not savage, do not persecute nor oppress; yet are they unrighteous, because, following some other habit, they are luxurious, drunkards, given to pleasure....Wicked then is every unrighteous man, who must needs be harmful, whether he be gentle or fierce...Let not then men please you who seem gentle and kind, yet are lovers of carnal pleasure, followers of polluted lusts, let them not please you. Though as yet they seem gentle, they are roots of thorns...They may be silent, they may hide their enmity, but they cannot love you. But since they cannot love you, and since they who hate you must needs seek your harm, let not your tongue and heart be slow to say to God, Deliver me, O Lord, from the unrighteous man.

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
In finem. Psalmus David.	Unto the end, a psalm of David.
1 Eripe me, Dómine, ab hómine malo: * a viro iníquo éripe me.	Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man.
2 Qui cogitavérunt iniquitátes in corde: * tota die constituébant prælia.	3 Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles.
3 Acuérunt linguas suas sicut serpéntis: * venénum áspidum sub lábiis eórum.	4 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips.
4 Custódi me, Dómine, de manu peccatóris: * et ab homínibus iníquis éripe me.	5 Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked: and from unjust men deliver me.
5 Qui cogitavérunt supplantáre gressus meos: * abscondérunt supérbi láqueum mihi:	Who have proposed to supplant my steps: 6 The proud have hidden a net for me.
6 Et funes extendérunt in láqueum: * juxta iter scándalum posuérunt mihi.	And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumbling block by the wayside.
7. Dixi Dómino : Deus meus es tu: * exáudi, Dómine, vocem deprecatiónis meæ.	7 I said to the Lord: You are my God: hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication.
8 Dómine, Dómine, virtus salútis meæ: * obumbrásti super caput meum in die belli.	8 O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation: you have overshadowed my head in the day of battle.
9 Ne tradas me, Dómine, a desidério meo peccatóri: * cogitavérunt contra me, ne derelínquas me, ne forte exalténtur.	9 Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not forsake me, lest they should triumph.
10 Caput circúitus eórum: * labor labiórum ipsórum opériet eos.	10 The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them.
11 Cadent super eos carbónes, in ignem dejícies eos: * in misériis non subsístent.	11 Burning coals shall fall upon them; you will cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand.
12 Vir linguósus non dirigétur in terra: * virum injústum mala cápient in intéritu.	12 A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction.
13 Cognóvi quia fáciet Dóminus judícium ínopis: * et vindíctam páuperum.	13 I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor.
14 Verúmtamen justi confitebúntur nómini tuo: * et habitábunt recti cum vultu tuo.	14 But as for the just, they shall give glory to your name: and the upright shall dwell with your countenance.

And for the next part in this series, continue on here.