Psalms
Psalm 55:21
21His speech is smooth as butter,
but war is in his heart.
His words are softer than oil,
yet they are swords unsheathed.
Word by word
Each English word or phrase beside the Hebrew it translates, in the order of the English. Choose a number to open that word’s study.
| English | Hebrew | Sounds like | Grammar | Word study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| His speech | פִּיו֮ | pîw | Noun - masculine singular construct; third person masculine singular | H6310 mouth |
| is smooth | חָלְק֤וּ׀ | ḥā·lə·qū | Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural | H2505 divide, share |
| as butter | מַחְמָאֹ֣ת | maḥ·mā·’ōṯ | Noun - feminine plural construct | H4260 buttery, flattery |
| but war | וּֽקֲרָב־ | ū·qă·rāḇ- | Conjunctive waw; Noun - masculine singular construct | H7128 battle, war |
| is in his heart | לִ֫בּ֥וֹ | lib·bōw | Noun - masculine singular construct; third person masculine singular | H3820 inner man, mind, will, heart |
| His words | דְבָרָ֥יו | ḏə·ḇā·rāw | Noun - masculine plural construct; third person masculine singular | H1697 speech, word |
| are softer | רַכּ֖וּ | rak·kū | Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural | H7401 be tender, weak, soft |
| than oil | מִשֶּׁ֗מֶן | miš·še·men | Preposition-m; Noun - masculine singular | H8081 fat, oil |
| yet they are | וְהֵ֣מָּה | wə·hêm·māh | Conjunctive waw; Pronoun - third person masculine plural | H1992 they, them |
| swords unsheathed | פְתִחֽוֹת׃ | p̄ə·ṯi·ḥō·wṯ | Noun - feminine plural | H6609 drawn sword |
Cross-references
Other passages that speak to the same thing. Point at one to read it.
Psalm 57:4 · Psalm 28:3 · Proverbs 5:3–4 · Proverbs 26:28 · Psalm 64:3 · Proverbs 26:24–26 · Psalm 12:2 · Luke 20:20–21 · Psalm 62:4 · Matthew 26:25 · Proverbs 12:18 · Psalm 59:7
Cross-references from OpenBible.info, used under CC BY 4.0. The best-supported references for each verse are shown.
Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible.