Read
Psalm 64:3
who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words,
1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. Hear my voice, God, in my complaint. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
2Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil;
3who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words,
4to shoot innocent men from ambushes. They shoot at him suddenly and fearlessly.
5They encourage themselves in evil plans. They talk about laying snares secretly. They say, “Who will see them?”
Notice
Sharpened tongues and aimed arrows make speech a weapon here, naming the deliberate harm words can do when someone chooses a target.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What does the act of sharpening suggest about the speech David describes?
Write on thisWhat words, if any, have felt aimed at you rather than spoken to you?
Write on thisWhat would you want to tell God about the harm such words cause?
Write on thisConnect
Where else Scripture says this
11 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
Matthew 12:34You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.Both passages connect evil with speech: David describes words aimed to harm, and Jesus says speech comes from the heart.
James 3:6And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is …David compares the tongue to a sword, while James compares it to fire; both describe its capacity for destruction.
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 psalms compare speech to swords, with Psalm 55 exposing war beneath words that sound soft.
Psalm 57:4My 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.Both psalms describe hostile people through the same weapons: arrows and a tongue compared to a sharp sword.
Psalm 58:7Let them vanish like water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.Both passages picture enemies aiming arrows; Psalm 58 asks that those arrows be made blunt.
Jeremiah 9:3“They bend their tongue, as their bow, for falsehood. They have grown strong in the land, but not for truth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they don’t …Both passages use archery to describe harmful speech, with Jeremiah naming falsehood as the tongue’s purpose.
Psalm 10:7His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression. Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.Both psalms locate harm in the mouth and tongue, describing speech bound up with evil.
Proverbs 12:18There is one who speaks rashly like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise heals.Both passages compare harmful speech to a sword; Proverbs also contrasts that harm with the healing tongue of the wise.
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 name tongues among the threats facing people; Isaiah speaks of tongues rising in judgment alongside weapons formed against them.
Jeremiah 18:18Then they said, “Come! Let’s devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law won’t perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. …Both passages portray speech as a planned attack, with Jeremiah’s opponents proposing to strike him with the tongue.
Genesis 49:23The archers have severely grieved him, shot at him, and persecuted him:Both passages depict attackers shooting at someone, though Genesis names archers while the psalm identifies its arrows as words.
Where this verse fits
Work conflict. broken friendship. injustice and anger.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
There is room in prayer to name speech that wounds. David brings these sharpened tongues before God; his complaint treats the danger of words as real.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 64:3. 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).