Mazmur 120:7

120:7 I am committed to peace, ¹ 

but when I speak, they want to make war. ² 

Mazmur 140:3

140:3 Their tongues wound like a serpent; ³ 

a viper’s ⁴  venom is behind ⁵  their lips. (Selah)

[120:7]  ¹ tn Heb “I, peace.”

[120:7]  ² tn Heb “they [are] for war.”

[140:3]  ³ tn Heb “they sharpen their tongue like a serpent.” Ps 64:3 reads, “they sharpen their tongues like sword.” Perhaps Ps 140:3 uses a mixed metaphor, the point being that “they sharpen their tongues [like a sword],” as it were, so that when they speak, their words wound like a serpent’s bite. Another option is that the language refers to the pointed or forked nature of a serpent’s tongue, which is viewed metaphorically as “sharpened.”

[140:3]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term is used only here in the OT.

[140:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “under.”