Psalms 52:4

You love to use all the words that destroy, ¹  and the tongue that deceives.

You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue!

You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.

You love to say things that harm others, you liar!

You love malicious gossip, you foul-mouth.

Destruction is in all your words, O false tongue.

You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.

You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue.

You love to use all the words that destroy, ¹  and the tongue that deceives.

¹ tn Heb “you love all the words of swallowing.” Traditionally בַּלַּע (bala’) has been taken to mean “swallowing” in the sense of “devouring” or “destructive” (see BDB 118 s.v. בָּלַע). HALOT 135 s.v. III *בֶּלַע proposes a homonym here, meaning “confusion.” This would fit the immediate context nicely and provide a close parallel to the following line, which refers to deceptive words.