Discovery BoxPsalms 12:4 
Context12:4 They say, 1 “We speak persuasively; 2
we know how to flatter and boast. 3
Who is our master?” 4
Psalms 31:18
Context31:18 May lying lips be silenced –
lips 5 that speak defiantly against the innocent 6
with arrogance and contempt!
Psalms 34:13
Context34:13 Then make sure you don’t speak evil words 7
or use deceptive speech! 8
Psalms 39:2
ContextI held back the urge to speak. 10
My frustration grew; 11
Psalms 71:8
Context71:8 I praise you constantly
and speak of your splendor all day long. 12
Psalms 73:9
Context73:9 They speak as if they rule in heaven,
and lay claim to the earth. 13
Psalms 77:4
Context77:4 You held my eyelids open; 14
I was troubled and could not speak. 15
Psalms 94:4
Context94:4 They spew out threats 16 and speak defiantly;
all the evildoers boast. 17
Psalms 119:46
Context119:46 I will speak 18 about your regulations before kings
and not be ashamed.
Psalms 120:7
Context120:7 I am committed to peace, 19
but when I speak, they want to make war. 20
1 tn Heb “which say.” The plural verb after the relative pronoun indicates a plural antecedent for the pronoun, probably “lips” in v. 3.
2 tn Heb “to our tongue we make strong.” The Hiphil of גָבַר (gavar) occurs only here and in Dan 9:27, where it refers to making strong, or confirming, a covenant. Here in Ps 12 the evildoers “make their tongue strong” in the sense that they use their tongue to produce flattering and arrogant words to accomplish their purposes. The preposition -לְ (l) prefixed to “our tongue” may be dittographic.
3 tn Heb “our lips [are] with us.” This odd expression probably means, “our lips are in our power,” in the sense that they say what they want, whether it be flattery or boasting. For other cases where אֵת (’et, “with”) has the sense “in the power of,” see Ps 38:10 and other texts listed by BDB 86 s.v. 3.a.
4 sn The rhetorical question expresses the arrogant attitude of these people. As far as they are concerned, they are answerable to no one for how they speak.
5 tn Heb “the [ones which].”
6 tn Or “godly.”
7 tn Heb “guard your tongue from evil.”
8 tn Heb “and your lips from speaking deception.”
9 tn Heb “I was mute [with] silence.”
10 tn Heb “I was quiet from good.” He kept quiet, resisting the urge to find emotional release and satisfaction by voicing his lament.
sn I held back the urge to speak. For a helpful discussion of the relationship (and tension) between silence and complaint in ancient Israelite lamentation, see E. S. Gerstenberger, Psalms, Part I (FOTL), 166-67.
11 tn Heb “and my pain was stirred up.” Emotional pain is in view here.
12 tn Heb “my mouth is filled [with] your praise, all the day [with] your splendor.”
13 tn Heb “they set in heaven their mouth, and their tongue walks through the earth.” The meaning of the text is uncertain. Perhaps the idea is that they lay claim to heaven (i.e., speak as if they were ruling in heaven) and move through the earth declaring their superiority and exerting their influence. Some take the preposition -בְּ (bet) the first line as adversative and translate, “they set their mouth against heaven,” that is, they defy God.
14 tn Heb “you held fast the guards of my eyes.” The “guards of the eyes” apparently refers to his eyelids. The psalmist seems to be saying that God would not bring him relief, which would have allowed him to shut his eyes and get some sleep (see v. 2).
15 tn The imperfect is used in the second clause to emphasize that this was an ongoing condition in the past.
16 tn Heb “they gush forth [words].”
17 tn The Hitpael of אָמַר (’amar) occurs only here (and perhaps in Isa 61:6).
18 tn The series of four cohortatives with prefixed vav (ו) conjunctive in vv. 46-48 list further consequences of the anticipated positive divine response to the request made in v. 43.
19 tn Heb “I, peace.”
20 tn Heb “they [are] for war.”
