לשון Razor Tongue
‘ELELO MASILA
1 SAMUEL 22:18-19
THEN THE KING [SAUL] SAID TO DOEG, "YOU TURN AND STRIKE THE PRIESTS." AND DOEG THE EDOMITE TURNED AND STRUCK DOWN THE PRIESTS, AND HE KILLED ON THAT DAY EIGHTY-FIVE PERSONS WHO WORE THE LINEN EPHOD. AND NOB, THE CITY OF THE PRIESTS, HE PUT TO THE SWORD; BOTH MAN AND WOMAN, CHILD AND INFANT, OX, DONKEY AND SHEEP, HE PUT TO THE SWORD.
1 SAMIUELA 22:18-19
18 Pea me‘a ‘a e tu‘i kia Toeki, Tu‘u takai koe, ‘o ‘ohofi ‘a e kau taula‘eiki. Pea tafoki ‘a e ‘Ītomi ko Toeki, pea ‘ohofi ‘e he taha ko ia ‘a e kau taula‘eiki, ‘o ne tāmate‘i ‘i he ‘aho ko ia ha toko valungofulu mā nima na‘e ‘ai ‘a e ‘ēfoti tupenu. 19 Pea ko Nopi, ko e kolo ‘o e kau taula‘eiki, na‘a ne taa‘i ‘aki ‘a e mata ‘o e heletā; ‘io, na‘a ne have‘i ‘a e tangata mo e fefine, ‘a e tamaiki mo e kei huhu, pea mo e pulu mo e ‘asi mo e sipi.
Doeg ranks as one of the coldest, most despicable men in the Bible. When Saul wanted intel about David's whereabouts, Doeg not only complied, thus stabbing the priests in the back; with bloodthirsty zeal, he literally stabbed those same eighty-five priests to death, along with every living thing in Nob. And where did it all begin? In his mouth. In a psalm about this slaughter, David says, "Your lashon ['tongue'] plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit" (52:2). Doeg's lashon was "staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell" (James 3:6).
The rabbis use the phrase lashon hara ("evil tongue") to describe the use of defamatory or derogatory speech designed to harm another person. Our tongues are gifts from God, full of incredible potential for good but also harm. Before we ever open our lips, let us first pray to the Father …
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer" (Ps. 19:14).
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