What Does Psalm 55:21 Mean in the King James?
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
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
The words are not gentle before they become dangerous; the Hebrew pictures the blade as already unsheathed beneath their smoothness.
THE MEANING
You can encounter speech that feels soft while its center holds conflict; in this verse, gentleness and danger coexist. The words arrive like oil, yet carry the force of a drawn sword.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A gentle tone does not guarantee a gentle intention.
THE ROOT
חָלְקוּ
ḥāləqû
GROWS FROM
ח־ל־ק
ḥ-l-q
To be smooth or slippery; by extension, to speak with flattering smoothness.
“smoother” in this verse is ḥāləqû. The Hebrew links smooth speech with slipperiness: the pleasing surface can conceal danger. The same root appears in the language of flattering lips, showing that this smoothness describes a way words can deceive, not simply a pleasant sound.
ALSO GROWS
ḥălaqlaqq: Slippery; very smooth.
חֲלַקְלַק
This branch makes the danger inside the image visible: what sounds smooth can also be hard to grasp and trust.
ḥălāqôt: Smoothness; flattering words.
חֲלָקוֹת
Psalm 12:2 uses this form for flattering lips, connecting the smoothness here with speech that covers a divided heart.
פְּתֻחוֹת
pĕṯuḥôt
GROWS FROM
פ־ת־ח
p-t-ḥ
To open.
The word rendered “drawn” carries the sense of being open: the swords are unsheathed. That image places the weapon inside the words themselves, even as they sound softer than oil.
ALSO GROWS
pātaḥ: To open.
פָּתַח
The verb names the basic action behind the image: the sword is open, its edge exposed.
pétaḥ: An opening or doorway.
פֶּתַח
This related form shows the root’s ordinary image of an opening; here, what is opened is the sword, ready to wound.
THE PATTERN
Speech can offer peace or fairness on the surface while concealing hostility within.
Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart.For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.THE THREAD
They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.“Flattering” translates חֲלָקוֹת (ḥălāqôt), from the same root ח־ל־ק (ḥ-l-q), smoothness, as “smoother” here. Psalm 12 pairs those smooth lips with a “double heart,” making explicit the division Psalm 55 compresses into its image of soft words and drawn swords.
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