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Psalm 57:4

My soul is among lions. I lie among those who are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

2I cry out to God Most High, to God who accomplishes my requests for me.
3He will send from heaven, and save me, he rebukes the one who is pursuing me. Selah. God will send out his loving kindness and his truth.
4My soul is among lions. I lie among those who are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
5Be exalted, God, above the heavens! Let your glory be above all the earth!
6They have prepared a net for my steps. My soul is bowed down. They dig a pit before me. They fall into the middle of it themselves. Selah.
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← Psalm 57:3Psalm 57:5 →
Notice

Lions become men with weapon-like teeth and tongues, making the danger personal: the speaker lies among people whose capacity to wound reaches into their speech.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What does the movement from lions to human tongues suggest about the danger described here?

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What, if anything, in your life would you describe to God with the words “a sharp sword”?

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Connect

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
James 3:8but nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.Both describe the tongue through images of lethal harm: a sharp sword in the psalm and poison in James.
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 compare human speech to swords, while Psalm 55 adds the contrast between soft words and a heart at war.
Proverbs 30:14There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and their jaws like knives, to devour the poor from the earth, and the needy from among men.Both picture human teeth as weapons, with Proverbs naming the poor and needy as those being devoured.
Proverbs 12:18There is one who speaks rashly like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise heals.Both compare harmful speech to a sword; Proverbs also names the healing that a wise tongue can bring.
Psalm 58:6Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, LORD.Both portray threatening people through lions and teeth; Psalm 58 asks God to break those teeth.
Psalm 120:6My soul has had her dwelling too long with him who hates peace.Both describe living among hostile people, with Psalm 57 depicting weapons and Psalm 120 naming hatred of peace.
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 portray the human mouth as dangerous, using weapons in the psalm and tombs, deceit, and poison in Romans.
Psalm 35:17Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my soul from their destruction, my precious life from the lions.Both describe a threatened life among lions, and Psalm 35 turns that danger into an explicit plea for rescue.
Proverbs 25:18A man who gives false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.Both link human speech with swords and arrows; Proverbs identifies false testimony against a neighbor as the harm.
Job 5:21You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, neither will you be afraid of destruction when it comes.Both portray the tongue as a source of harm; Job's verse speaks of protection from it.
Proverbs 5:4but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.Both use a sharp sword as an image of harm, though Proverbs describes a woman and the psalm describes attackers.
Jeremiah 9:8Their tongue is a deadly arrow. It speaks deceit. One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart, he waits to ambush him.Both compare tongues to weapons, while Jeremiah specifies deceit and an ambush concealed beneath peaceful speech.
Where this verse fits

Work conflict. injustice and anger. fear for the future.

What the Bible says about anger →What the Bible says about fear →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Read Psalm 57:4 aloud, naming one threat before God

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Encouragement

You do not have to soften your account of danger when you pray. The speaker names human cruelty within a cry to God Most High, whose loving kindness and truth remain.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 57:4. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 57 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

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).