Psalm 120:4

Psalm 120:4, in plain English

This verse answers the question from verse 3: deceitful tongues face sharp consequences—like arrows from a warrior or burning coals that won't extinguish. God's judgment is both swift and thorough.

Why it's here

The psalmist is describing what God will do to punish liars and deceivers. The imagery is vivid and painful because words have caused real pain. This isn't wishful revenge fantasy—it's the psalmist expressing confidence that God sees injustice and will respond to it.

Who's speaking

The psalmist, declaring what happens when someone makes lies their weapon.

Where it sits in the story

The Bible consistently teaches that God is just and that falsehood doesn't have the last word. What the psalmist expresses here anticipates the final judgment that runs throughout Scripture—God will settle accounts.

The scholarly reading

God will strike the deceitful speaker with sharp arrows and burning coals — an image of divine punishment through fire and weapons.

Language and setting

The Hebrew constructs שִׁנָּנִים קִשְׁתוֹ־גִבּוֹר (arrows of a mighty warrior, sharpened) and גַּחֲלֵי־רְתָמִים (coals of the broom tree) deploy vivid martial and pyrotechnic imagery drawn from ancient Near Eastern warfare. The broom tree (ratam) produces particularly dense, long-burning coals — a detail Origen and other patristic commentators recognized as reinforcing the idea of prolonged, intense suffering. This theodicy through imagined punishment functions catharticly: the psalmist envisions judgment against his oppressor, allowing him to relinquish personal vengeance to divine hands.

Voice

The psalmist continues his imprecatory address, now articulating what he believes God will execute as punishment for linguistic treachery.

Significance

These images of divine weaponry and fire recall covenant-violation passages (Genesis 3:24, the flaming sword; Deuteronomy 32:22, the covenant curse) and anticipate apocalyptic judgment literature (Revelation 20:15), establishing a theological continuity wherein God's response to human deception manifests through concrete, vivid punishment.

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!

5Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar!

6Too long have I dwelt among those who hate peace.

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.