🎵WEB · Psalms 5:9
What does Psalms 5:9 mean?
"For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their heart is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb. They flatter with their tongue."
— Psalms 5:9 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
You will destroy those who speak lies. Yahweh abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
But as for me, in the abundance of your loving kindness I will come into your house. I will bow toward your holy temple in reverence of you.
Lead me, Yahweh, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face.
For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their heart is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb. They flatter with their tongue.
Hold them guilty, God. Let them fall by their own counsels; Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against you.
But let all those who take refuge in you rejoice, Let them always shout for joy, because you defend them. Let them also who love your name be joyful in you.
For you will bless the righteous. Yahweh, you will surround him with favor as with a shield.
Explanation
Psalm 5:9 describes the character of the wicked, particularly those who oppose David and, by extension, oppose God's righteous ways. In plain language, the verse says that these people cannot be trusted when they speak. Their words carry no truth or reliability ("no faithfulness in their mouth"), their inner motives are aimed at ruin and harm ("their heart is destruction"), their speech is as foul and deadly as a decaying corpse in an open grave ("their throat is an open tomb"), and despite all this corruption, they present themselves smoothly and persuasively to deceive others ("they flatter with their tongue").
This psalm is attributed to David and is framed as a morning prayer (verse 3 mentions David laying his requests before God "in the morning"). David was frequently surrounded by enemies—whether political rivals, court accusers, or those seeking his harm—who used deceptive speech and slander as weapons against him. Rather than retaliating in kind, David brings his complaint to God, asking for divine protection and justice. Verse 9 functions as part of his description of these adversaries, justifying his plea in the following verses (verse 10) that God would judge them according to their own wickedness, since it originates from within them and flows out through their speech.
Theologically, this verse highlights a consistent biblical theme: that speech reveals the condition of the heart. Throughout Scripture, words are not treated as separate from character but as evidence of it (compare Matthew 12:34, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks"). The imagery
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