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Tuesday, August 5th, 2025
the Week of Proper 13 / Ordinary 18
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Read the Bible

The NET Bible®

Psalms 50:20

You plot against your brother; you slander your own brother.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Falsehood;   Gossip;   Slander;   Wicked (People);   Scofield Reference Index - Judgments;   Thompson Chain Reference - Backbiting;   Evil;   Silence-Speech;   Slander;   Speaking, Evil;   The Topic Concordance - Forgetting;   Glory;   Reproof;   Salvation;   Speech/communication;   Wickedness;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Slander;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Asaph;   Psalms, the Book of;   Sacrifice;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Gossip;   Wrath;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Asaph;   English Versions;   Gift, Giving;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Jonah;   Psalms;   Sin;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - God;   Psalms the book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- The Jewish Encyclopedia - Bat Ḳol;   Calumny;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
You sit, maligning your brother,slandering your mother’s son.
Hebrew Names Version
You sit and speak against your brother. You slander your own mother's son.
King James Version
Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.
English Standard Version
You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son.
New Century Version
You speak against your brother and lie about your mother's son.
Amplified Bible
"You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother's son.
New American Standard Bible
"You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother's son.
World English Bible
You sit and speak against your brother. You slander your own mother's son.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Thou sittest, and speakest against thy brother, and slanderest thy mothers sonne.
Legacy Standard Bible
You sit and speak against your brother;You slander your own mother's son.
Berean Standard Bible
You sit and malign your brother; you slander your own mother's son.
Contemporary English Version
you sat around gossiping, ruining the reputation of your own relatives."
Complete Jewish Bible
you sit and speak against your kinsman, you slander your own mother's son.
Darby Translation
Thou sittest [and] speakest against thy brother, thou revilest thine own mother's son:
Easy-to-Read Version
You sit around talking about people, finding fault with your own brothers.
George Lamsa Translation
You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mothers son.
Good News Translation
You are ready to accuse your own relatives and to find fault with them.
Lexham English Bible
You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your mother's son.
Literal Translation
You sit; you speak against your brother; you give fault to the son of your mother.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thou syttest and speakest agaynst thy brother, yee and slaundrest thine owne mothers sonne.
American Standard Version
Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; Thou slanderest thine own mother's son.
Bible in Basic English
You say evil of your brother; you make false statements against your mother's son.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.
King James Version (1611)
Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine owne mothers sonne.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thou sattest and spakedst agaynst thy brother: yea and hast slaundered thine owne mothers sonne.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Thou didst sit and speak against thy brother, and didst scandalize thy mother’s son.
English Revised Version
Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thou sittynge spakist ayens thi brother, and thou settidist sclaundir ayens the sone of thi modir;
Update Bible Version
You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother's son.
Webster's Bible Translation
Thou sittest [and] speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thy own mother's son.
New King James Version
You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother's son.
New Living Translation
You sit around and slander your brother— your own mother's son.
New Life Bible
You sit and speak against your brother. You talk against your own mother's son.
New Revised Standard
You sit and speak against your kin; you slander your own mother's child.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Thou wouldst sit down - Against thine own brother, wouldst thou speak, Against thine own mother's son, wouldst thou expose a fault: -
Douay-Rheims Bible
(49-20) Sitting thou didst speak against thy brother, and didst lay a scandal against thy mother’s son:
Revised Standard Version
You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son.
Young's Literal Translation
Thou sittest, against thy brother thou speakest, Against a son of thy mother givest slander.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother's son.

Contextual Overview

16 God says this to the evildoer: "How can you declare my commands, and talk about my covenant? 17 For you hate instruction and reject my words. 18 When you see a thief, you join him; you associate with men who are unfaithful to their wives. 19 You do damage with words, and use your tongue to deceive. 20 You plot against your brother; you slander your own brother. 21 When you did these things, I was silent, so you thought I was exactly like you. But now I will condemn you and state my case against you! 22 Carefully consider this, you who reject God! Otherwise I will rip you to shreds and no one will be able to rescue you. 23 Whoever presents a thank-offering honors me. To whoever obeys my commands, I will reveal my power to deliver."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

speakest: Psalms 31:18, Matthew 5:11, Luke 22:65

slanderest: Leviticus 19:16, Proverbs 10:18, 1 Timothy 3:11, Titus 2:3, Revelation 12:10

thine own: Matthew 10:21

Reciprocal: Job 15:5 - thou choosest Psalms 101:5 - Whoso Jeremiah 6:28 - walking Ezekiel 22:9 - men that carry tales Ephesians 4:31 - evil speaking

Cross-References

Genesis 37:4
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated Joseph and were not able to speak to him kindly.
Genesis 50:5
‘My father made me swear an oath. He said, "I am about to die. Bury me in my tomb that I dug for myself there in the land of Canaan." Now let me go and bury my father; then I will return.'"
Genesis 50:8
all Joseph's household, his brothers, and his father's household. But they left their little children and their flocks and herds in the land of Goshen.
Genesis 50:13
His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. This is the field Abraham purchased as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite.
Genesis 50:15
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay us in full for all the harm we did to him?"
Genesis 50:16
So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father gave these instructions before he died:
Genesis 50:17
‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.' Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father." When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept.
Genesis 50:18
Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said, "Here we are; we are your slaves."
Genesis 50:20
As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.
Psalms 56:5
All day long they cause me trouble; they make a habit of plotting my demise.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Thou sittest,.... Either in the chair of Moses, or on the seat of judgment, in the great sanhedrim of the nation; or, as Aben Ezra paraphrases it, "in the seat of the scornful";

[and] speakest against thy brother; even to pass sentence upon him, to put him to death for professing faith in Christ, Matthew 10:21;

thou slanderest thine own mother's son; the apostles and disciples of Christ, who were their brethren and kinsmen according to the flesh; and even our Lord Jesus Christ himself, who was bone of their bone, and flesh of their flesh.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother - To the general character of falsehood and slander there is now added the fact that they were guilty of this in the most aggravated manner conceivable - against their nearest relations, the members of their own families. They were not only guilty of the crime against neighbors - against strangers - against persons to whom they sustained no near relationship; but against those of their own households - those whose characters, on that account, ought to have been especially dear to them. The words ““thou sittest”” probably refer to the fact that they would do this when enjoying social contact with them; in confidential conversation; when words of peace, and not of slander, might be properly expected. The word “brother” “might” be used as denoting any other man, or any one of the same nation; but the phrase which is added, “thine own mother’s son,” shows that it is here to be taken in the strictest sense.

Thou slanderest - literally, “Thou givest to ruin.” Prof. Alexander renders it, “Thou wilt aim a blow.” The Septuagint, the Vulgate, Luther, and DeWette understand it of slander.

Thine own mother’s son - It is to be remembered that where polygamy prevailed there would be many children in the same family who had the same father, but not the same mother. The nearest relationship, therefore, was where there was the same mother as well as the same father. To speak of a brother, in the strictest sense, and as implying the nearest relationship, it would be natural to speak of one as having the same mother. The idea here is, that while professing religion, and performing its external rites with the most scrupulous care, they were guilty of the basest crimes, and showed an entire want of moral principle and of natural affection. External worship, however zealously performed, could not be acceptable in such circumstances to a holy God.


 
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