Psalms 120:4 Meaning: God’s Answer to a Lying Tongue

Three words carry the weight here. First, arrows (chets). In the Psalms, God’s arrows often picture swift, unstoppable judgment (see Psalm 7:13, Deuteronomy 32:23). They come from a source you cannot outrun. The second word is sharpened (shanan), which means whetted to a fine edge, not blunt or glancing, but precise and penetrating. These are not random misfortunes. Third, coals of juniper (gechel retem). The broom tree grows in the Arabian desert; its root-wood makes charcoal that burns hotter and longer than ordinary wood. One ancient writer said embers from this plant could still be warm after a year. Together these images say something solid: God’s response to deceit is not an afterthought. It has the force of a warrior’s arrow and the lasting heat of a fire that does not burn out quickly. That is sobering for those who use words as weapons, and comforting for those who have been wounded by them.

Most Christian interpreters across the centuries read this verse as a promise of divine retribution. Calvin, Wesley, Barnes, and the Cambridge Bible all see it answering the question in verse 3: what will happen to the deceitful tongue? The sharp arrows and burning coals are God’s judgment, not the tongue’s own power. A minority reading, mentioned by Gill and Matthew Henry, sees the verse describing the tongue itself, as sharp arrows that pierce and fire that consumes, drawing on James 3:6. Both readings affirm that deceitful speech is deadly serious. The difference is whether the verse points to the wound the tongue inflicts or the wound that finally meets it. Historic Christian teaching holds that God will not let slander and lies have the last word. The psalm invites the sufferer to wait on that justice.

A common misreading is to take this verse as a description of how powerful and dangerous the lying tongue is, as if the psalmist is just saying, “Watch out, words can hurt like arrows and burn like fire.” In fact, the verse is the answer to the question in verse 3: “What will be given to you, you deceitful tongue?” It is the punishment, not the weapon. The arrows and coals come from the mighty God, not from the slanderer. The psalm does warn about the tongue’s harm, but here the focus is on the just consequence that catches up with it.

If someone has lied about you or twisted your words, you know the particular ache it leaves. You cannot defend yourself against every whisper. This psalm invites you to hand that weight to God. He sees. He is the warrior whose arrows do not miss. You do not have to repay the slander or prove your innocence to everyone. You can say, “Lord, you know. I leave it with you.” But this verse also asks you to examine your own tongue. When you speak about others, do your words build up or tear down? Deceit is not a small thing, the psalm says it draws a fiery response from heaven. Let that shape what you say this week.