Psalm 5:6

Berean Standard Bible

You destroy those who tell lies; the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.

King James Bible

Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

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This verse, like others in the opening section of the psalm, builds upon the rich theological theme of God's holiness and justice, continuing the stark and sober description of God's response to evil. It adds further clarity and specificity to the moral and relational boundaries that exist between the Holy One of Israel and those who practice unrighteousness. In the broader context of David’s prayer, this verse serves both as a theological affirmation of God’s character and as a moral anchor for the psalmist’s confidence in divine justice.

The first clause—"You destroy those who speak lies"—is a declaration of judgment upon a specific category of sinner: the liar. This may seem, on the surface, to target a relatively common and seemingly minor offense, especially when compared with acts of violence or idolatry. Yet Scripture consistently places lying at the heart of sin's corrosive power. Lying is not merely the misuse of words; it is an assault on truth, and truth is foundational to God’s very nature. From the earliest chapters of Genesis, deceit was the tool by which humanity fell—Satan, the father of lies, introduced corruption into creation through falsehood. Lying disrupts trust, destroys relationships, obscures justice, and imitates the character of the adversary rather than the image of the Creator.

To “speak lies” in this verse likely refers not only to isolated acts of deception, but to a pattern of speech—a way of being marked by duplicity. The Hebrew expression carries the weight of someone who lives by falsehood, who manipulates truth, and who uses words to deceive, mislead, or cover evil intent. Such a person becomes an agent of chaos in a world made to reflect the God of truth. Thus, the judgment is not disproportionate. God destroys such people—not arbitrarily, but righteously, as a necessary consequence of their refusal to walk in the light.

The language of destruction here is sobering. God is not merely displeased with liars; He judges them. He does not merely call out their error; He cuts it off. In biblical theology, destruction is often the fate of those who refuse repentance and persist in opposition to God’s ways. This is not an impulsive or cruel act on God’s part—it is the holy and final verdict of a righteous Judge. If the God of truth is to remain true, then falsehood must be confronted and eliminated. The moral order of God’s kingdom depends upon the eradication of deceit. Lies may be tolerated for a time among men, but they have no lasting place before God.

The second clause of the verse intensifies the focus: “The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” Now the psalmist combines two categories of wickedness—violence and deception—into a single portrait of the evildoer. To be bloodthirsty is to love violence, to be drawn to destruction, to hunger for harm. This term does not simply describe someone who kills, but someone who is cruel, oppressive, and devoid of mercy. When joined with deceit, it paints the image of one who not only acts wickedly but does so under the cover of lies, someone who hides the blade behind charming speech, who plots in secret and ruins in silence.

That God “abhors” such a person is a strong and emotionally loaded term. It communicates deep revulsion, a complete rejection, not simply of the acts, but of the one who commits them. Again, this may sound harsh to modern ears conditioned to a soft, therapeutic view of God. But Scripture does not flatter our sensitivities—it confronts them with holy clarity. God is love, yes, but it is a holy love. His emotional response to evil is not mild disapproval but utter detestation. He cannot look upon evil with neutrality. He does not merely hate sin as an abstract principle; He loathes the embodiment of that sin in hardened, unrepentant individuals who pursue evil with delight and deception.

The pairing of violence and deceit here is instructive. These are not random sins; they are often intimately connected in both the personal and societal dimensions of sin. The deceitful person lays traps; the violent person springs them. The liar hides the intention; the bloodthirsty fulfills it. Together, they represent a kind of perversion of the image of God. Where God creates with truth and gives life, the deceitful and bloodthirsty corrupt truth and bring death. Such individuals are not simply weak or misguided—they are enemies of life, enemies of truth, and thus enemies of God.

This verse, then, is not merely a condemnation—it is a revelation. It reveals to us what God loves by showing us what He hates. He is a God of truth and peace; therefore, He hates lies and violence. He is a God of justice and purity; therefore, He must oppose the deceitful and the bloodthirsty. And in that revelation, we are called to take inventory of our own lives. Have we spoken lies, whether large or small, to protect ourselves or harm others? Have we harbored violence in our hearts, even if our hands have remained clean? Have we used our words to twist truth or wound others? If so, this verse reminds us not only of God’s judgment, but of our need for His mercy.

There is no room for self-righteousness here. David himself, though a man after God's own heart, knew what it was to deceive and to bring blood upon his own hands. His later psalms are full of confession and repentance. And it is in that spirit that this verse must ultimately be heard—not as a weapon to condemn others, but as a mirror to examine ourselves. For the God who destroys liars and abhors the violent is the same God who forgives the penitent, who restores the broken, who delivers the soul from Sheol. His hatred of sin does not cancel His mercy; it magnifies it. The cross of Christ is the clearest demonstration of this paradox—God’s wrath against sin and His love for sinners met and were satisfied in the sacrifice of the spotless Lamb.

Psalm 5:6, therefore, is a verse that calls for sobriety, for self-examination, and for reverence. It paints in stark terms the nature of divine judgment, but also implicitly urges the reader toward the only refuge: repentance and faith in the God who judges justly and saves graciously. The false and the violent will not endure before Him, but the humble and the truthful will find mercy and welcome. Let those who hear this verse not harden their hearts, but come to the God of truth with sincerity, trusting in His steadfast love to purify them from all unrighteousness.

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To all the saints who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth, beloved of God, called to holiness, and set apart by grace—peace and steadfastness be multiplied to you in the knowledge of the Father and of His Son, our Lord and Savior.

I write to you not with vain speech, nor with the wisdom of this age, but with the earnestness of one who longs to see the Church walk in light as He is in the light. For we live in a time when the line between truth and falsehood is blurred, when violence is praised in the name of power, and deception is repackaged as strategy and charm. But we, dear brothers and sisters, are not of the night nor of the darkness. We are children of the day, and our lives must reflect the holiness of the One who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Let us turn our hearts to the sober words of the psalmist in Psalm 5:6: “You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” These are no light words. They are not the inventions of men nor the exaggerated warnings of religious tradition. They are the very breath of God, recorded through the hand of His servant David, who himself knew the weight of both sin and mercy. These words are as true today as when they were first sung in ancient Israel’s worship, for the God who spoke them has not changed. His standard of righteousness remains firm, His hatred of evil remains uncompromised, and His call to holiness remains unchanged.

“You destroy those who speak lies.” Consider this carefully, O Church. In a world where lying is routine and deceit is often celebrated as cleverness, let us remember that the God we serve is a God of truth. Lies are not merely social infractions or moral blemishes; they are affronts to the very character of God, who is Truth itself. The liar imitates not the Creator but the serpent, for the devil has been a liar from the beginning, and when he lies, he speaks according to his own nature.

God does not wink at deceit, nor does He pass over it as a minor offense. He destroys those who speak lies—not merely in the final judgment, but often in the undoing of their own lives. The one who trades in falsehood builds his house on sand, and when the winds of trial come, it will collapse. Relationships, built on lies, crumble. Reputations, built on deception, rot. And the soul itself, if not brought to repentance, withers under the weight of its own falsehood. Truth is not an accessory to the Christian life—it is the very ground we walk on. Without it, we cannot worship, cannot love, cannot witness, cannot live in the presence of God.

“The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” Let this also sink deep into your spirit. It is not only the acts of violence and lies that God condemns, but the man who gives himself to them, who embodies them, who persists in them with no fear of God and no sorrow for sin. The Hebrew word used here for “abhor” is intense. It speaks of deep revulsion and total rejection. Some may recoil at such language and say, “Is not God love?” Yes, He is love—perfect, holy, consuming love. But because He is love, He must also hate. He must hate all that destroys, all that corrupts, all that dehumanizes and defiles. To love life is to hate murder. To love truth is to hate lies. To love the innocent is to hate the violence that robs them of peace and breath.

The bloodthirsty man is one who is drunk on cruelty—who delights in harm, who glorifies strength without mercy, who builds his success on the suffering of others. The deceitful man is his kin, hiding violence under smooth words, cloaking malice in charm. These may not always appear as monstrous figures. They may wear robes or suits, stand in pulpits or sit in boardrooms. But God sees beyond appearances. He searches the heart, and what He finds, He judges rightly.

But beloved, before we point the finger outward, let us first examine ourselves. Have our words always been pure? Have we ever twisted truth to serve our own ends? Have we harbored anger, bitterness, or revenge in our hearts—what our Lord equated with murder? Have we ever spoken with a forked tongue, praising with one breath and slandering with the next? If we are honest, we have all fallen short. We have all been touched by the very sins that God abhors.

So what hope is there for us? Our hope is in Christ, the Righteous One, who was without deceit, whose mouth never uttered a lie, whose hands never shed innocent blood. He stood in our place, He bore the wrath we deserved, He took upon Himself the judgment for liars and murderers and deceivers. On the cross, the sinless One was destroyed that the sinful might be spared. And in Him, we find mercy—not by hiding our sin, but by confessing it; not by minimizing our guilt, but by magnifying His grace.

Therefore, let this verse not only warn us, but drive us to repentance. Let it awaken us from spiritual apathy and call us back to the fear of the Lord. Let it cleanse our mouths and guard our hearts. Let our speech be seasoned with truth, full of grace and uprightness. Let our dealings with others be marked by honesty, integrity, and the peaceable wisdom from above. Let no bitterness take root, no malice fester, no violence linger in the thoughts or words of those who claim the name of Christ.

And let us also be bold witnesses in a world that celebrates deception and feeds on violence. Let us not conform to the pattern of this age, nor be silent in the face of evil. Let the Church stand as a pillar and foundation of truth. Let our homes be places where truth is cherished and deceit rejected. Let our children grow up knowing that God sees and judges the heart, and that truth matters not because it is convenient, but because it reflects the very nature of the One who made us.

The God who destroys liars and abhors the bloodthirsty has not changed. But neither has His mercy. Let us run to Him, not with excuses, but with broken hearts. And having received forgiveness, let us walk in newness of life. Let us be a people who speak the truth in love, who walk in peace and righteousness, who shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation.

Now may the God of truth sanctify you wholly. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.

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O Lord, righteous and eternal, the Judge of all the earth, the God of truth and justice, before whom every heart is laid bare and every secret thought is fully known—You are holy, and Your name is to be feared above all. From everlasting to everlasting, You remain the same: unchanging in Your goodness, unwavering in Your hatred of evil, unshaken by the schemes of the wicked. You do not shift with the tides of human morality, nor do You blink at sin as men do. You are pure in all Your judgments, consuming in Your holiness, and faithful in Your wrath and mercy alike.

You have said in Your Word, “You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” And so we tremble, O God, not with a slavish terror, but with the reverent fear that is the beginning of wisdom. We do not come to these words to explain them away or to soften their weight. We receive them as truth from the mouth of the Almighty, and we bow our souls before You, the One who cannot lie, who will not tolerate falsehood, and who will not excuse violence cloaked in diplomacy or deceit painted with flattering lips.

You are not a passive observer of the sins of men. You are not indifferent to the blood that cries out from the ground, nor silent when lies slither from the tongue. You see the oppressed and the oppressor alike. You know the schemes crafted in secret and the words spoken with forked tongues. You are not swayed by the reputations of the proud, nor deceived by the masks of the hypocrite. You behold all things in perfect clarity, and You have set a day on which You will judge the world in righteousness by the Man You have appointed—Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, exalted at Your right hand.

O Lord, search us and see if there be any deceitful way in us. We confess that lying is not only done by others; it has found its way into our own hearts. We have, at times, shaped the truth to suit our ends, spoken in half-truths to guard our pride, and concealed what should have been confessed. We have, at times, used silence as a shield and words as weapons. We have spoken peace with our lips while nursing hatred within. And though we may not have lifted hands to spill blood, have we not, O Lord, assassinated with our tongues? Have we not wounded with our whispers and cursed with our contempt?

Forgive us, Lord, for the blood of pride and envy, of anger and selfish ambition, that cries out against us. We plead not our own righteousness, for we have none. We plead the blood of Jesus, the Lamb slain for sinners, the only righteous One whose mouth was free of guile and whose hands were clean of violence. He, though sinless, bore the penalty for liars and murderers, for hypocrites and slanderers, for the bloodthirsty and the false. He was destroyed in our place, that we might be delivered. He was abhorred and forsaken, that we might be accepted and loved.

We hide ourselves in Him, O God. We confess our sins, and You are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Cleanse us now, we pray. Purify our hearts and set a guard over our mouths. Let truth rule in our innermost being. Let our words reflect Your holiness. Let our thoughts be formed by Your Word. Let our lives bear witness to the fact that we serve a God who is not mocked and who will not be joined with deceit or violence.

Teach us to hate what You hate—not with fleshly hatred, but with the holy loathing that grieves over sin because it grieves Your heart. Let us not become desensitized to lies, nor casual about the shedding of innocent blood. Let us not be entertained by cruelty or deceived by the clever packaging of wickedness in this age. Make us lovers of truth, defenders of the weak, peacemakers and truth-tellers, shaped not by the spirit of the age but by the Spirit of Christ.

And let us weep for the world, Lord. For many walk in darkness, calling evil good and good evil. Many have seared their consciences and made peace with lies. Many have made a covenant with death and mock the fear of the Lord. But You, O God, are not mocked. Your judgment is sure. And so we pray—have mercy. Awaken sinners by the power of Your Word. Confront the bloodthirsty with the justice they cannot escape. Confront the deceitful with the truth they cannot resist. And by Your mercy, bring them low that they may be raised in Christ. For such were we, but You made us new. Such still are we, apart from grace.

O Lord, keep us from ever thinking lightly of the sins You abhor. May Your Word remain sharp in our minds and heavy on our hearts. May it drive us to continual repentance, to daily surrender, to joyful holiness. May we live each moment as those who walk before the eyes of the living God. And when we are tempted to speak lies, convict us. When we are tempted to strike with words or harbor hate in secret, rebuke us swiftly and lead us back into the light.

Let the Church be holy, O Lord. Let her pulpits be full of truth. Let her members be marked by integrity. Let no deceitful person find honor among us. Let no bloodthirsty spirit take root in our ranks. Purify Your Bride with the washing of the Word, and make her ready for the coming of the Bridegroom, who will judge in righteousness and reign in glory.

We long for that day, Lord. We long for the reign of truth, the end of lies, the triumph of peace, the silencing of bloodshed. Until then, keep us faithful, watchful, and clean. And to You, who are worthy of reverence and fear, love and trust, judgment and praise—to You be glory forever and ever.

Amen.