Read
Psalm 31:18
Let the lying lips be mute, which speak against the righteous insolently, with pride and contempt.
16Make your face to shine on your servant. Save me in your loving kindness.
17Let me not be disappointed, LORD, for I have called on you. Let the wicked be disappointed. Let them be silent in Sheol.
18Let the lying lips be mute, which speak against the righteous insolently, with pride and contempt.
19Oh how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have worked for those who take refuge in you, before the sons of men!
20In the shelter of your presence you will hide them from the plotting of man. You will keep them secretly in a dwelling away from the strife of tongues.
Notice
The plea for lying lips to fall silent is a prayer for judgment, carrying the weight of pride and contempt directed against the righteous.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What difference do “pride and contempt” make to the harm described here?
Write on thisWhere, if anywhere, have you seen lies used to discredit someone seeking to do right?
Write on thisWhat would you want to entrust to God before praying for lying lips to be mute?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 10:2In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak. They are caught in the schemes that they devise.Both passages describe arrogance directed against others: lying speech against the righteous in Psalm 31, hunting down the weak in Psalm 10.
Jude 1:15to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the hard things …Both passages connect hostile speech with judgment, though Psalm 31 names speech against the righteous and Jude names speech against the Lord.
Psalm 94:4They pour out arrogant words. All the evildoers boast.Arrogant speech marks the wrongdoers in both psalms, with pride expressed through contempt in Psalm 31 and boasting in Psalm 94.
Isaiah 54:17No weapon that is formed against you will prevail; and you will condemn every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the LORD’s …Both passages concern tongues raised against God's people: Psalm 31 asks for silence, while Isaiah promises those accusations will not prevail.
1 Samuel 2:3“Don’t keep talking so exceedingly proudly. Don’t let arrogance come out of your mouth, for the LORD is a God of knowledge. By him actions are weighed.Both passages oppose proud speech, bringing arrogant mouths under the authority of God.
Psalm 17:10They close up their callous hearts. With their mouth they speak proudly.Both psalms describe opponents whose mouths express pride; Psalm 31 also names their lies and contempt toward the righteous.
Revelation 22:15Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.Both texts place falsehood under judgment: Psalm 31 asks that lying lips be silenced, while Revelation excludes those who love and practice falsehood.
Revelation 21:8But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns …Lying faces judgment in both passages, with Psalm 31 seeking silence and Revelation naming liars among those facing the second death.
John 8:44You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because …Both texts treat lying as evil; John identifies the devil as a liar and the father of lies.
Psalm 64:3–4who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words,Both psalms portray speech used to harm others; Psalm 64 compares the tongue to a sword and words to arrows.
John 8:48Then the Jews answered him, “Don’t we say well that you are a Samaritan, and have a demon?”Both passages feature contemptuous speech directed at another person, with John recording the accusation that Jesus has a demon.
Acts 25:7When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing against him many and grievous charges which they could not prove,Both passages concern damaging accusations, though Acts describes charges that could not be proved and Psalm 31 names the speech as lies.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. work conflict. church hurt.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The preceding plea reaches as far as Sheol; these are grave words. The sufferer brings the demand for judgment to God, whose presence offers shelter from the strife of tongues.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).