Psalms 140:3

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent; Adders' poison is under their lips. {H5542}

Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

אֲשֶׁ֤ר חָשְׁב֣וּ רָע֣וֹת בְּלֵ֑ב כָּל־י֝֗וֹם יָג֥וּרוּ מִלְחָמֽוֹת׃

Transliteration

ʾăšer ḥāšəḇû rāʿôt in-lēḇ all-yôm yāgûrû milḥāmôt

Grammar Details

*ʾăšer*: relative pronoun - who/which/that
*ḥāšəḇû*: qal perfect 3rd person plural verb - they devised/planned
*rāʿôt*: feminine plural noun - evils/evil things
*lēḇ*: masculine singular noun with prefixed preposition bet (in) - heart
*yôm*: masculine singular noun with prefixed kol (all/every) - day
*yāgûrû*: qal imperfect 3rd person plural verb - they stir up/gather
*milḥāmôt*: feminine plural noun - wars/battles

Word Meanings

*ḥāšəḇû*: they planned/they devised/they imagined
*rāʿôt*: evils/wickedness/evil things
*lēḇ*: heart/mind/inner self
*yāgûrû*: they stir up/they gather/they incite
*milḥāmôt*: wars/battles/conflicts

ℹ️

About this Translation

American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

Formal EquivalenceSource: American Standard VersionBest for: Word studies and original-language research

🎯 Translation Approach

A highly literal, word-for-word translation (ASV, 1901) augmented with Strong's numbering to connect English words to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms for study.

Word-for-word

5/5

Readability

2/5

💎 Distinctive Features

Integrated Strong's numbering: Links English terms to underlying Hebrew and Greek words for deeper lexical study.
Formal equivalence: Prioritizes close alignment with source-language forms and structures.
Divine name rendering: Frequently renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah in the Old Testament, following ASV tradition.
Study-focused formatting: Optimized for reference and research rather than casual reading.

✅ Strengths

High fidelity to original languages
Includes Strong's numbers for precise word study
Consistent lexical choices aid exegesis
Stable, longstanding scholarly text

⚠️ Considerations

Archaic language reduces readability
Older textual basis compared to some modern translations
Strong's numbers are a concordance index, not full lexical definitions

👥 Who is this for?

Ideal for

Pastors and teachers
Seminary students
Serious Bible students
Readers conducting word studies
Those referencing Hebrew/Greek tools

Consider alternatives for

Casual readers
Children and early teens
ESL learners seeking simple English
Readers preferring contemporary language

🔄 Compare with

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Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

Ps 58:4 : 4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: [They are] like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear,
Ps 57:4 : 4 My soul is among lions; I lie among them that are set on fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.
Gen 3:13 : 13 And Jehovah God said unto the woman, What is this thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Ps 52:2-3 : 2 Thy tongue deviseth very wickedness, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. 3 Thou lovest evil more than good, And lying rather than to speak righteousness. {H5542}
Ps 59:7 : 7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth; Swords are in their lips: For who, [say they], doth hear?
Ps 64:3-4 : 3 Who have whet their tongue like a sword, And have aimed their arrows, even bitter words, 4 That they may shoot in secret places at the perfect: Suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.
Prov 12:18 : 18 There is that speaketh rashly like the piercings of a sword; But the tongue of the wise is health.
Prov 23:32 : 32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, And stingeth like an adder.
Isa 59:3-5 : 3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue muttereth wickedness. 4 None sueth in righteousness, and none pleadeth in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. 5 They hatch adders' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth; and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.
Isa 59:13 : 13 transgressing and denying Jehovah, and turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
Jer 9:3 : 3 And they bend their tongue, [as it were] their bow, for falsehood; and they are grown strong in the land, but not for truth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith Jehovah.
Jer 9:5 : 5 And they will deceive every one his neighbor, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity.
Matt 12:34 : 34 Ye offspring of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Rom 3:13-14 : 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; With their tongues they have used deceit: The poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
2 Cor 11:3 : 3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, {G3779} your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ.
Jas 3:6-8 : 6 And the tongue is a fire: the world of iniquity among our members {G3779} is the tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beasts and birds, {G5037} of creeping things and things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed by mankind. 8 But the tongue can no man tame; [it is] a restless evil, [it is] full of deadly poison.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

Rom 3:13-15
3 verses
87%
13Their throat is an open sepulchre; With their tongues they have used deceit: The poison of asps is under their lips:
14Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
15Their feet are swift to shed blood;
Ps 64:3-4
2 verses
81%
3Who have whet their tongue like a sword, And have aimed their arrows, even bitter words,
4That they may shoot in secret places at the perfect: Suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.
Ps 58:4
81%
4Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: [They are] like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear,
Ps 140:2
78%
2Who devise mischiefs in their heart; Continually do they gather themselves together for war.
Ps 5:9
77%
9For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is very wickedness; Their throat is an open sepulchre; They flatter with their tongue.
Ps 140:9
77%
9As for the head of those that compass me about, Let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
Ps 52:2-4
3 verses
77%
2Thy tongue deviseth very wickedness, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
3Thou lovest evil more than good, And lying rather than to speak righteousness. {H5542}
4Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.
Ps 59:12
76%
12[ For] the sin of their mouth, [and] the words of their lips, Let them even be taken in their pride, And for cursing and lying which they speak.
Jer 9:8
75%
8Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth wait for him.
Ps 10:7
75%
7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression: Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
Ps 73:9
75%
9They have set their mouth in the heavens, And their tongue walketh through the earth.
Ps 62:4
75%
4They only consult to thrust him down from his dignity; They delight in lies; They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. {H5542}
Ps 59:7
75%
7Behold, they belch out with their mouth; Swords are in their lips: For who, [say they], doth hear?
Deut 32:33
74%
33Their wine is the poison of serpents, And the cruel venom of asps.
Job 20:16
74%
16He shall suck the poison of asps: The viper's tongue shall slay him.
Ps 109:2
74%
2For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit have they opened against me: They have spoken unto me with a lying tongue.
Prov 24:2
74%
2For their heart studieth oppression, And their lips talk of mischief.
Ps 140:4-5
2 verses
74%
4Keep me, O Jehovah, from the hands of the wicked; Preserve me from the violent man: Who have purposed to thrust aside my steps.
5The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; They have spread a net by the wayside; They have set gins for me. {H5542}
Ps 120:3
74%
3What shall be given unto thee, and what shall be done more unto thee, Thou deceitful tongue?
Jer 9:3
73%
3And they bend their tongue, [as it were] their bow, for falsehood; and they are grown strong in the land, but not for truth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith Jehovah.
Ps 64:7-8
2 verses
73%
7But God will shoot at them; With an arrow suddenly shall they be wounded.
8So they shall be made to stumble, their own tongue being against them: All that see them shall wag the head.
Jas 3:8
72%
8But the tongue can no man tame; [it is] a restless evil, [it is] full of deadly poison.
Ps 12:2-3
2 verses
72%
2They speak falsehood every one with his neighbor: With flattering lip, and with a double heart, do they speak.
3Jehovah will cut off all flattering lips, The tongue that speaketh great things;
Ps 83:3
72%
3Thy take crafty counsel against thy people, And consult together against thy hidden ones.
Prov 23:32
72%
32At the last it biteth like a serpent, And stingeth like an adder.
Lam 3:62
72%
62The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.
Ps 21:11
72%
11For they intended evil against thee; They conceived a device which they are not able to perform.
Ps 57:4
71%
4My soul is among lions; I lie among them that are set on fire, Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.
Ps 34:13
71%
13Keep thy tongue from evil, And thy lips from speaking guile.
Ps 31:18
71%
18Let the lying lips be dumb, Which speak against the righteous insolently, With pride and contempt.
Ps 17:10-11
2 verses
71%
10They are inclosed in their own fat: With their mouth they speak proudly.
11They have now compassed us in our steps; They set their eyes to cast [us] down to the earth.
Ps 22:13
71%
13They gape upon me with their mouth, [As] a ravening and a roaring lion.
Ps 38:12
71%
12They also that seek after my life lay snares [for me]; And they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, And meditate deceits all the day long.
Ps 57:6
71%
6They have prepared a net for my steps; My soul is bowed down: They have digged a pit before me; They are fallen into the midst thereof themselves. {H5542}
Job 16:10
71%
10They have gaped upon me with their mouth; They have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully: They gather themselves together against me.
Ps 69:22
71%
22Let their table before them become a snare; And when they are in peace, [let it become] a trap.
Ps 35:20
71%
20For they speak not peace; But they devise deceitful words against them that are quiet in the land.
Jer 9:5
71%
5And they will deceive every one his neighbor, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity.
Ps 55:21
71%
21His mouth was smooth as butter, But his heart was war: His words were softer than oil, Yet were they drawn swords.
Eccl 10:11
71%
11If the serpent bite before it is charmed, then is there no advantage in the charmer.
Ps 37:14
70%
14The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay such as are upright in the way.