Psalm 120:2

Psalm 120:2, in plain English

Now the psalmist asks God to rescue him specifically from people who lie and deceive—the real source of his pain isn't physical danger but the poison of dishonest words.

Why it's here

Words can destroy you just as much as weapons can. In a community where your reputation and relationships matter for survival, false testimony or deceitful speech could isolate you, ruin you financially, or even get you killed. The psalmist has experienced the sting of lies and wants deliverance from it.

Who's speaking

Someone who has been wounded by deception—possibly falsely accused, slandered, or manipulated. They know how words cut.

Where it sits in the story

Throughout Scripture, God's people learn that words matter enormously to God. Later, Jesus will teach that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, and the New Testament will emphasize how powerful and dangerous the tongue is. This psalmist is discovering what takes the whole Bible to fully develop.

The scholarly reading

The psalmist begs God to rescue him specifically from deceptive speech — from people who lie and speak with malicious intent.

Language and setting

The Hebrew construction שִׁקְרֵי־שָׂפָה וּלְשׁוֹן־מִרְמָה ('lies of the lip and a tongue of deceit') employs parallelism to intensify the charge: this is not accidental falsehood but weaponized deception. Medieval commentators like David Kimhi (Radak) recognized that such linguistic treachery constituted a form of violence in the ancient Near Eastern context, where one's word and honor were inseparable. The petition for deliverance (הַצִּילָה — hatzila, the imperative form) assumes that false speech operates as a concrete danger requiring divine intervention.

Voice

An individual suffering under the specific torment of slander, false accusation, or the systematic deception of adversaries who exploit language as an instrument of social destruction.

Significance

This concern with deceitful speech echoes throughout the wisdom literature and psalmic corpus (Proverbs 10:18-19, Psalm 101:7), reflecting a biblical conviction that language shapes reality and that truthfulness constitutes a cardinal virtue. The psalmist's appeal positions divine truth-telling against human falsehood, anticipating the New Testament's fuller development of Christ as logos — divine word made incarnate.

1In my distress I cried to the LORD, and He answered me.

2Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips and a deceitful tongue.

3What will He do to you, and what will be added to you, O deceitful tongue?

4Sharp arrows will come from the warrior, with burning coals of the broom tree!

Read all of Psalm 120 — The first of fifteen pilgrimage songs. The journey to Jerusalem begins with a cry from a place of conflict. Too long have I lived among those who hate peace.