I, the Lord, affirm ¹  that I am opposed to those prophets who are using their own tongues to declare, ‘The Lord declares….’ ² 

Then with smooth words he will defile ¹  those who have rejected ²  the covenant. But the people who are loyal to ³  their God will act valiantly. ⁴ 

will you, with him, spread out ¹  the clouds, solid as a mirror of molten metal?

May the Lord cut off ¹  all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts! ² 

O Lord who rules over all, ¹  how blessed are those who trust in you! ² 

Make the path for your feet ¹  level, ²  so that ³  all your ways may be established. ⁴ 

A lying tongue ¹  hates those crushed by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin. ² 

The one ¹  who flatters ²  his neighbor spreads a net ³  for his steps. ⁴ 

The leprosy left him at once, and he was clean.

For ¹  they do not speak the truth; ²  their stomachs are like the place of destruction, ³  their throats like an open grave, ⁴  their tongues like a steep slope leading into it. ⁵ 

People lie to one another; ¹  they flatter and deceive. ² 

for he is too proud to recognize and give up his sin. ¹ 

A song of ascents. ²  How blessed is every one of the Lord’s loyal followers, ³  each one who keeps his commands! ⁴ 

For the lips ¹  of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her seductive words ²  are smoother than olive oil,

The way of the sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, ¹  but the path of the upright is like ²  a highway. ³ 

The one who reproves ¹  another ²  will in the end ³  find more favor than the one who flatters ⁴  with the tongue.

Does a farmer just keep on plowing at planting time? ¹  Does he keep breaking up and harrowing his ground?

For there will no longer be any false visions or flattering omens amidst the house of Israel.

Then I will make their waters calm, ¹  and will make their streams flow like olive oil, declares the sovereign Lord.

the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make ¹  his paths straight.’” ²