Salmos 144:8

8 Cuya boca habla vanidad, Y su diestra es diestra de mentira.

Salmos 144:8 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 144:8

Whose mouth speaketh vanity
Vain words, lies, flatteries, and deceit, ( Psalms 12:2 ) ; when they speak loftily of themselves, and contemptuously of others; when they deliver out threatenings against some, and make fair promises to others; it is all vanity, and comes to nothing; and their right hand [is] a right hand of falsehood;
their strength and power to perform what they boast of, threaten, or promise, is fallacious, is mere weakness, and cannot effect anything; or their treaties, contracts, and covenants, they enter into and sign with their right hand, are not kept by them; they act the treacherous and deceitful part. The Latin interpreter of the Arabic version renders it, "their oath is an oath of iniquity"; and Ben Balaam in Aben Ezra, and R. Adnim in Ben Melech, say the word so signifies in the Arabic language; and Schultens F13 has observed the same: but the word in that language signifies the right hand as well as an oath, and need not be restrained to that; it is better to take it in the large sense, as Cocceius F14 does; whether they lifted up the hand to pray, or to swear; or gave it to covenant with, to make contracts and agreements; or stretched it out to work with; it was a right hand of falsehood.


FOOTNOTES:

F13 Observat. Philolog. p. 195.
F14 Lexicon, col. 312.

Salmos 144:8 In-Context

6 Despide relámpagos, y disípalos, Envía tus saetas, y contúrbalos.
7 Envía tu mano desde lo alto; Redímeme, y sácame de las muchas aguas, De la mano de los hijos de extraños;
8 Cuya boca habla vanidad, Y su diestra es diestra de mentira.
9 Oh Dios, á ti cantaré canción nueva: Con salterio, con decacordio cantaré á ti.
10 Tú, el que da salud á los reyes, El que redime á David su siervo de maligna espada.
The Reina-Valera Antigua (1602) is in the public domain.