Psalm 120: 3-4 NKJV
3
What shall be given to you,
Or what shall be done to you,
You false tongue?
4
Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With coals of the broom tree!
Justice for the Slanderer
My Notes
Psalm 120:3-4 (NKJV): What shall be given to you, Or what shall be done to you, You false tongue? Sharp arrows of the warrior, With coals of the broom tree!
Psalm 120 begins with the psalmist crying out to the Lord in his distress, living among those who practice deceit. In verses 3 and 4, the tone shifts dramatically.
The psalmist moves from pleading with God to addressing the false tongue directly. He asks: What shall be given to you? The answer is sobering – judgment. Those who wound with lies will themselves be pierced by God’s arrows of truth and consumed by His fiery justice.
Lying lips may seem powerful, hidden behind flattery or cloaked in friendship, but God sees. The false tongue is likened to a razor (Psalm 52:2), a sword (Psalm 57:4), and arrows (Proverbs 26:18–19). Words can destroy reputations and peace, but God promises that deceit will not go unpunished.
This is a solemn warning and a clear statement of divine justice. Slander, defaming, and detraction—the offenses of the false tongue—are so grave that their penalty is likened to an attack by a “warrior” (the Mighty One, God Himself). The judgment will be swift, sure, and sharp, like an arrow shot with overwhelming force.
Furthermore, this judgment is intensified by the image of “coals of the broom tree.” The broom tree (or juniper) is known for wood that creates an exceptionally hot and long-burning fire. The punishment will be not only instantaneous but also intensely painful and enduring. The very weapons the slanderer used—wounding words like arrows—will be returned as instruments of judgment. This passage reminds us that God sees the ruin caused by deceitful speech and promises that all liars will ultimately face the inescapable and potent shafts of His truth and the consuming fire of His judgment.
This passage reminds us: slander and deceit are not trivial sins. They are assaults against truth itself, and the God of truth will reckon with them. For the believer, this is both warning and comfort—warning us to guard our own tongues, and comforting us that God will vindicate His people.
Cross-References for Deeper Study (NKJV)
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Psalm 12:3, 7: May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, And the tongue that speaks proud things; – You shall keep them, O Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.
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Psalm 52:2-4: Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue.
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Proverbs 26:18-19: Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, Is the man who deceives his neighbor, And says, “I was only joking!”
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Job 6:4: For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; My spirit drinks in their poison; The terrors of God are arrayed against me.
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Psalm 64:7: But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded.
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Deuteronomy 32:23: ‘I will heap disasters on them; I will spend My arrows on them.
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Revelation 21:8: But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Prayer
Abba, You see the pain caused by false tongues and deceitful words. Deliver me from their sting, and guard my own lips from sin. Pierce the lies around me with Your arrows of truth, and consume deception with the fire of Your justice. Teach me to speak words that honor You—words of life, encouragement, and truth. May my tongue be an instrument of peace, not destruction. Keep me mindful that every word matters before You, and let my speech reflect the grace of Christ. I ask for these things in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Questions to Meditate on
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Have you ever been wounded by false words? How did God sustain you in that season?
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Are there subtle ways you are tempted to use your tongue carelessly—through gossip, exaggeration, or flattery?
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How can you use your words today to bring healing, encouragement, and truth instead of harm?
Application
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Guard your tongue: Pray Psalm 141:3—“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth.”
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Trust God’s justice: When slander arises, resist retaliation. Entrust your reputation to God (Psalm 64:7).
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Speak truth: Commit to using words that build up (Ephesians 4:29).
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Remember eternity: Lies may seem powerful now, but God’s judgment is sure and lasting (Revelation 21:8).
Proverb for Today
Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your heart to my knowledge; For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips, So that your trust may be in the Lord; I have instructed you today, even you. Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you? Proverbs 22:17-21 NKJV
NOTE: We are in a group of fifteen psalms, Ps. 120–134, to each of which is prefixed the title “A Song of Degrees.” Four of these psalms are recognized as written by David, one of them to Solomon, and the rest are by unknown authors.
………Bill
Summary of Commentaries:
The psalmist warns the false tongue of its inevitable judgment. Slander, defaming, and deceit bring no profit but invite divine recompense. Spurgeon calls slander the worst of offenses, shielded by its own baseness yet destined for God’s arrows of truth. Barnes emphasizes that deceit yields only ruin and divine punishment. Gill and Henry describe sharp arrows of the Almighty and coals of juniper—symbols of piercing, enduring wrath. Enduring Word notes that lying lips, like razors and swords, will meet fiery darts of judgment. Ultimately, deceitful tongues face swift, crushing justice, consumed by God’s lasting fire and truth.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“What shall be given unto thee?” What is the expected guerdon of slander? It ought to be something great to make it worthwhile to work in so foul an atmosphere and to ruin one’s soul. Could a thousand worlds be bribe enough for such villainous deeds? The liar shall have no welcome recompense: he shall meet with his deserts; but what shall they be? What punishment can equal his crime? The Psalmist seems lost to suggest a fitting punishment. It is the worst of offenses—this detraction, calumny, and slander. Judgment, sharp and crushing, would be measured out to it if men were visited for their transgressions.
“Or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?” How shalt thou be visited? The law of retaliation can hardly meet the case, since none can slander the slanderer; he is too black to be blackened; neither would any of us blacken him if we could. Wretched being! He fights with weapons which true men cannot touch. Like the cuttlefish, he surrounds himself with an inky blackness into which honest men cannot penetrate. Like the foul skunk, he emits an odor of falsehood which cannot be endured by the true; and therefore, he often escapes, unchastised by those whom he has most injured. His crime, in a certain sense, becomes his shield; men do not care to encounter so base a foe. But what will God do with lying tongues? He has uttered his most terrible threats against them, and he will terribly execute them in due time.
“Sharp arrows of the mighty.” Swift, sure, and sharp shall be the judgment. Their words were as arrows, and so shall their punishment be. God will see to it that their punishment shall be comparable to an arrow keen in itself, and driven home with all the force with which a mighty man shoots it from his bow of steel,—”sharp arrows of the mighty”. Nor shall one form of judgment suffice to avenge this complicated sin. The slanderer shall feel woes comparable to
coals of juniper, which are quick in flaming, fierce in blazing, and long in burning. He shall feel sharp arrows and sharper fires. Awful doom! All liars shall have their portion in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. Their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched. Juniper coals long retain their heat, but hell burneth ever, and the deceitful tongue may not deceive itself with the hope of escape from the fire which it has kindled. What a crime is this to which the All merciful allots a doom so dreadful! Let us hate it with perfect hatred. It is better to be the victim of slander than to be the author of it. The shafts of calumny will miss the mark, but not so the arrows of God: the coals of malice will cool, but not the fire of justice. Shun slander as you would avoid hell.
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Enduring Word
What shall be given to you: The psalmist shifted from his prayer to God to speak to the false tongue of those who caused him distress. He warned those lying lips of their destiny, of what shall be done to you. (Guzik)
i. In light of the judgment described in these verses, it is worth remembering that “…a false tongue is likened to a sharp razor, Psalm 52:2-4; to a sharp sword, Psalm 57:4; to sharp arrows, Proverbs 26:18-19.” (Trapp)
Sharp arrows of the warrior: The false tongue of the singer’s enemies would soon know sharp arrows. They had cast out lies like dangerous missiles, and now the sharp arrows of judgment would come against them. (Guzik)
i. These are “…punishments justly inflicted on a tongue, the words of which have been keen and killing as arrows, and which, by its lies and calumnies, hath contributed to set the world on fire.” (Horne)
ii. Clarke suggested that the picture here is of flaming arrows or fiery darts (Ephesians 6:16): “Fiery arrows, or arrows wrapped about with inflamed combustibles, were formerly used in sieges to set the places on fire.”
iii. “The liar, wounding though his weapons are, will be destroyed with far more potent shafts than lies: God’s arrows of truth and coals of judgment.” (Kidner)
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Albert Barnes
What shall be given unto thee? – Margin, “What shall the deceitful tongue give unto thee;” or, “what shall it profit thee?” Luther, “What can the false tongue do?” Others render this, “How will God punish thee?” Others, “What will he (God) give to thee?” That is, what recompense can you expect from God for these malignant calumnies? A literal translation of this verse would be, “What shall the tongue of deceit give to thee, and what shall it add to thee?” – referring to the offender himself. The essential idea is, what will be the result of such conduct? What must be expected to follow from it? That is, either
(a) from the unprofitableness of such a course; or
(b) from the natural consequences to one’s reputation and happiness; or
(c) from the judgment of God.
The answer to these questions is found in Psalms 120:4.
Or what shall be done unto thee? – Margin, as in Hebrew, “added.” What must be the consequence of this? What will follow?
Thou false tongue – This may be either an address to the tongue itself, or, as above, the word “tongue” may be used as the nominative to the verbs in the sentence. The sense is not materially affected either way.
Sharp arrows of the mighty – This is an answer to the question in Psalms 120:3. The consequence – the effect – of such a use of the tongue must be like sharp and piercing arrows, or like intensely burning coals. The “sharp arrows of the mighty” are the arrows of the warrior, as war was conducted mainly by bows and arrows. Those arrows were, of course, sharpened to make them piercing, penetrating, more deadly.
With coals of juniper – On the word here rendered “juniper,” see the notes at Job 30:4. The idea here is that coals made from that would be intensely hot, and would cause severer pain than if made from other wood. The word refers to a species of broom or shrub growing in the deserts of Arabia, with yellowish flowers and a bitter root. See “Robinson’s Biblical Researches,” vol. i., p. 299. Burchardt says that he found the Bedouin of Sinai burning the roots into coal, and says that they make the best charcoal and throw out the most intense heat. The shrub sometimes grows so large as to furnish a shade to those exposed to the heat of the sun in the desert, 1 Kings 19:4; “Land and the Book” (Thomson), vol. ii., pp. 438, 439.
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John Gill
Or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue? Or, “what shall the false tongue add unto thee?” It shall increase thy sorrows and distress: or rather, what gain, profit, and advantage, shall the deceitful tongue get to itself by its lies and deceit? None at all; it may do harm to others, but gets no good to itself; see Isaiah 28:15; Or, “what shall he (God) give unto thee?” or, “what shall he add unto thee, thou false tongue?” so Jarchi. What punishment will not he inflict upon thee, who hates lying lips? What plagues will not he add unto thee, who knows all the deceit that is in thee, and spoken by thee?
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper. Some think these words describe lying lips, and a false tongue; which are like arrows, sharp ones, sent out from a bow drawn with a mighty hand, which come with great force, suddenly and swiftly, and do much mischief; see Psalm 11:2; and to “coals of juniper,” very distressing and tormenting; the tongue being a fire, set on fire of hell, and sets on fire the course of nature; and throws out devouring words, which consume like fire, James 3:6. But rather the punishment of an evil tongue from the Lord is intended, whose sore judgments are often compared to arrows, Deuteronomy 32:23; because they come from above, and bring swift and sudden destruction with them; and are very sharp in the hearts of his enemies; are very severe and cutting, and come with power irresistible, being the arrows of the Almighty, Job 6:4; see Jeremiah 50:9; and these may be compared to “coals of juniper,” which are very vehement and strong, and very lasting and durable. Jerom and Isidore say they will last a whole year, and the Midrash on the place reports of two men, who had prepared food with them, and at the end of a year returned and found them burning, and warmed their feet at them. These fitly express the lake of fire and brimstone, the portion of liars; whose fire is very strong, and flames devouring, being kindled by the breath of the Lord of hosts, like a stream of brimstone: and the fire of hell is everlasting; its burnings are everlasting burnings; a worm that dieth not, a fire that is not quenched; the smoke of the torments of which ascend for ever and ever, Isaiah 30:23. The Targum speaks of these arrows as lightnings from above, and of the coals of juniper as kindled in hell below; and they are interpreted of hell in the Talmud.
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Matthew Henry
The doom of a false tongue foretold by faith, v. 3, 4. As God will preserve his people from this mischievous generation, so he will reckon with their enemies, Ps. 12:3, 7. The threatening is addressed to the sinner himself, for the awakening of his conscience, if he have any left: “Consider what shall be given unto thee, and what shall be done unto thee, by the righteous Judge of heaven and earth, thou false tongue.” Surely sinners durst not do as they do if they knew, and would be persuaded to think, what will be in the end thereof. Let liars consider what shall be given to them: Sharp arrows of the Almighty, with coals of juniper, that is, they will fall and lie for ever under the wrath of God, and will be made miserable by the tokens of his displeasure, which will fly swiftly like arrows, and will strike the sinner ere he is aware and when he sees not who hurts him. This is threatened against liars, Ps. 64:7. God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. They set God at a distance from them, but from afar his arrows can reach them. They are sharp arrows, and arrows of the mighty, the Almighty; for they will pierce through the strongest armor and strike deep into the hardest heart. The terrors of the Lord are his arrows (Job 6:4), and his wrath is compared to burning coals of juniper, which do not flame or crackle, like thorns under a pot, but have a vehement heat, and keep fire very long (some say, a year round) even when they seem to be gone out. This is the portion of the false tongue; for all that love and make a lie shall have their portion in the lake that burns eternally, Rev. 22:15.
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Miscellaneous Comments
“What shall be given?” Intimating that his enemy expected some great reward for his malice against David; but, saith the Psalmist, he shall have “sharp arrows of the Almighty, with coals of juniper;” as if he had said, “Whatever reward he have from men, this shall be his reward from God”.
—John Jackson, in “The Morning Exercises,” 1661.
The victim of slander, in these heavy complaints he has just uttered, may be indulging in excess, which pious friends are represented as coming forward to reprove by reminding him how little a true servant of God can be really injured by slander. Hence, as in the margin of our Bibles, the psalm assumes the dramatic form, and represents his fellow worshippers as asking the complainer: What evil, O servant of God, can the false tongue give to thee! Nursling of Omnipotence, what can it do to thee!… The answer of suffering nature and bleeding peace still returns: “It is like the sharp arrows of the mighty, like coals of juniper.” An arrow from the bow of a mighty warrior, that flies unseen and unsuspected to its mark, and whose presence is only known when it quivers in the victim’s heart, not unaptly represents the silent and deadly flight of slander; while the fire which the desert pilgrim kindles on the sand, from the dry roots of the juniper, a wood which, of all that are known to him, throws out the fiercest and most continued heat, is not less powerfully descriptive of the intense pain and the lasting injury of a false and malicious tongue.
—Robert Nisbet.
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