The Meaning of Psalms 73:9 Explained

Psalms 73:9

KJV: They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.

YLT: They have set in the heavens their mouth, And their tongue walketh in the earth.

Darby: They set their mouth in the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.

ASV: They have set their mouth in the heavens, And their tongue walketh through the earth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

They set  their mouth  against the heavens,  and their tongue  walketh  through the earth. 

What does Psalms 73:9 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 73:1-15 - Deceptive Prosperity
The opening psalms of this third Book of Psalms are by Asaph; see 2 Chronicles 29:30. The r.v. margin substitutes only for surely in Psalms 73:1. There is none good but God and God is only good. "His every act pure goodness is; His path unsullied light." Israel, as here intended, is not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. See John 1:47 and Romans 2:28-29.
We have in these verses a good man's temptation. In every age God's people have asked whether God can possibly know all that is taking place on the earth, and if He does know, why He allows evil to prosper. The dark spirit who is ever at our elbow whispers that we should have done as well, and better, if we had not been quite so scrupulous in our business dealings; and we are held back from giving expression to our thoughts only by the fear that we might cause God's weaker children to stumble. This reticence is, of course, wholly commendable. A Christian man confessed the other day that the irreligion of his children was due to his critical and captious speech. By all means keep these dark and faithless thoughts locked in your own breast; you have no right to scatter thistle-down. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 73

1  The prophet, prevailing in a temptation
2  Shows the occasion thereof, the prosperity of the wicked
13  The wound given thereby, diffidence
15  The victory over it, knowledge of God's purpose

What do the individual words in Psalms 73:9 mean?

They set against the heavens their mouth and their tongue walks through the earth
שַׁתּ֣וּ בַשָּׁמַ֣יִם פִּיהֶ֑ם וּ֝לְשׁוֹנָ֗ם תִּֽהֲלַ֥ךְ בָּאָֽרֶץ

שַׁתּ֣וּ  They  set 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: שָׁתַת  
Sense: (Qal) to set, appoint.
בַשָּׁמַ֣יִם  against  the  heavens 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
פִּיהֶ֑ם  their  mouth 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.
וּ֝לְשׁוֹנָ֗ם  and  their  tongue 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: לָשֹׁון  
Sense: tongue.
תִּֽהֲלַ֥ךְ  walks 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
בָּאָֽרֶץ  through  the  earth 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.