What Does Psalm 36:3 Mean in the King James?
The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Deceitful speech is the audible sign that discernment and doing good have already been abandoned.
THE MEANING
The verse gives you a way to recognize a present pattern: speech shaped by harm and deception accompanies the abandonment of discernment and good action. It treats deceit as more than a passing verbal lapse; the mouth exposes that wisdom has been laid aside. The words make visible how speech and the capacity to do good are connected.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that deceptive speech is merely a verbal slip with no connection to judgment or conduct; here, deceitful words belong to the abandonment of wisdom and doing good.
THE ROOT
מִרְמָה
mirmāh
GROWS FROM
רמה
r-m-h
to deceive, beguile, or deal treacherously
The word for deceit names deception as active dealing, not simply inaccurate speech. The verse places this treacherous speech beside a life that has stopped discerning and doing good.
ALSO GROWS
rāmāh: to deceive or beguile
רָמָה
The verb shows that deceit is something enacted, giving the mouth’s words the force of an action.
remiyyāh: deceit or treachery
רְמִיָּה
This related noun appears in Psalm 52:2 for speech that works deceitfully, echoing the verse’s picture of deception carried by the tongue.
לְהַשְׂכִּיל
lehaskil
GROWS FROM
שכל
ś-k-l
to understand, discern, or act with prudence
“to be wise” in this verse is lehaskil. This verb joins insight to wise action; it does not describe knowledge held at a distance. The verse links deceitful speech to the abandonment of the capacity to discern and act well.
ALSO GROWS
śēkhel: understanding or insight
שֵׂכֶל
This noun shows the discernment contained in wisdom, which the verse says has been left behind.
maśkīl: one who understands or acts with insight
מַשְׂכִּיל
This form describes wisdom embodied in a person, sharpening the verse’s contrast between deceitful speech and a life shaped by discernment.
THE PATTERN
Deceptive speech signals a deeper departure from the wisdom that shapes good action.
Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.THE THREAD
He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.“Wisely” comes from the same שׂכל (ś-k-l), meaning to understand or act with prudence, root as “to be wise” in this verse, and Proverbs ends with finding good. Together, the verses show the good wisdom reaches and the collapse that follows when it is abandoned.
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