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Psalm 36:3
The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
1For the Chief Musician. By David, the servant of the LORD. A revelation is within my heart about the disobedience of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2For he flatters himself in his own eyes, too much to detect and hate his sin.
3The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
4He plots iniquity on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He doesn’t abhor evil.
5Your loving kindness, LORD, is in the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Notice
“He has ceased” makes the warning sobering: deceitful speech belongs here to a life in which wisdom and the practice of good have been abandoned.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What does “has ceased” make you notice about the need to keep doing good?
Write on thisWhere might your words need closer scrutiny for truthfulness this week?
Write on thisWhat good action could you take this week alongside greater care with your words?
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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
Zephaniah 1:6those who have turned back from following the LORD, and those who haven’t sought the LORD nor inquired after him.Both describe abandonment: the psalm names wisdom and good deeds forsaken, while Zephaniah names people turning back from following the LORD.
Matthew 13:21yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.Both describe a failure to continue: one ceases wisdom and goodness; the other stumbles when persecution comes.
Romans 3:13“Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit.” “The poison of vipers is under their lips.”Both name deceit in human speech, treating what comes from the mouth as evidence of evil.
1 Samuel 15:11“It grieves me that I have set up Saul to be king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments.” Samuel was angry; and he …The psalm describes someone who has ceased doing good; Saul has turned back from following God and keeping his commands.
Psalm 55:21His mouth was smooth as butter, but his heart was war. His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.Both portray corrupt speech: Psalm 36 names deceit, while Psalm 55 describes smooth words concealing a heart at war.
Jeremiah 4:22“For my people are foolish. They don’t know me. They are foolish children, and they have no understanding. They are skillful in doing evil, but they don’t know …Both connect a lack of wisdom with failure to do good, describing evil as something expressed in conduct.
Matthew 15:18But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man.Both treat speech as a moral matter: the psalm names iniquity and deceit, and Jesus describes words that defile.
Luke 11:25When he returns, he finds it swept and put in order.The connection is slight: Luke describes a swept, ordered place; the psalm describes deceit and abandoned goodness, without mentioning outward order.
2 Samuel 22:22For I have kept the LORD’s ways, and have not wickedly departed from my God.These passages contrast abandoning good with keeping the LORD’s ways: one person has ceased, while the other has continued.
2 Chronicles 20:32He walked in the way of Asa his father, and didn’t turn away from it, doing that which was right in the LORD’s eyes.Both concern whether someone continues in good conduct, contrasting ceased goodness with a king who did right in the LORD’s eyes.
Job 23:11My foot has held fast to his steps. I have kept his way, and not turned away.The shared concern is persistence in conduct: the psalm describes ceasing to do good, while Job describes holding fast to God’s steps.
Psalm 10:7His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression. Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.Both identify the mouth as a source of deceit and iniquity, making corrupt speech central to their descriptions of wickedness.
Where this verse fits
Temptation. guilt and confession. sermon or Bible study notes.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The warning is severe because words and deeds matter before God. Wisdom has a visible shape here: truthful speech and the practice of good.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 36:3. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.
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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).