Psalms 15:3

[He that] backbiteth not with his tongue,.... Is not a slanderer, a defamer, a tale bearer; a backbiter is one who privately, secretly, behind a man's back speaks evil of him, devours and destroys

He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. He that backbiteth not with his tongue.

He doth not take away or diminish his neighbour’ s good name, either by denying him his due praises, or by laying any thing to his charge falsely, or without sufficient cause and evidence; nor doeth evil, i.e. any hurt or injury, to his neighbour, i.e. to any man; as is evident, 1. From the nature of this precept, which reacheth to all, it being plain and certain that, both by laws of nature and of Moses, it was not. lawful to do evil to any man, except where God the Sovereign commanded it, as he did to the Canaanites and Amalekites. 2. From the Scripture usage of this word neighbour, which frequently signifies every man, though a stranger or a heathen, as appears from ,17 Leviticus 18:20 19:15, &c.; ,9 Lu 10:20, &c.; ,44. And he useth this word neighbour, because he who is strictly so is most within our reach, and most liable to the injuries which one man doth to another. Nor taketh up, to wit, into his lips or mouth, which is understood here, as also , and fully expressed 50:16, i.e. doth not raise it, though that may seem to be included in the first clause, that backbiteth not; or doth not spread and propagate it; which men are too prone and ready to do, and which makes that a public which before was but a private injury and mischief. Or, nor taketh or receiveth, i.e. entertaineth it cheerfully and greedily, as men usually do such things, and easily believeth it without sufficient reason. See . Or, nor beareth or endureth, as this phrase signifies, . He doth not suffer another to defame him without some rebuke or signification of his dislike, .

Psalms 15:3 [He that] backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.Ver. 3. He that backbiteth not with his tongue] That trotteth not up and down for the purpose, as the word signifieth; that walketh not about as a pedlar with his pack, as the word is, Leviticus 19:16, this is a bloody sin, ibid.; confer Ezekiel 22:9. Ragal, whence Regal, a foot. Many ways a man may backbite with his tongue, that unruly member. Imponens, augens, manifestans, in mala vertens, Qui negat, aut minuit, tacuit, laudatque remisse. One observeth from this text that there is also a slander of the heart that never cometh into the tongue, sc. hard conceits and evil surmises. Some say that the word here signifieth to speak truth, but with a mischievous mind, to hurt another; as Doeg dealt by David, and is, therefore, accursed, Psalms 52:1-6., and called a liar for his labour, Psalms 120:2-3 The smutting of another man’ s good name in any kind behind his back is backbiting; it is an irreparable wrong; take heed of it. The eye and the good name can bear no jests, as the proverb hath it. Nor doth evil to his neighbour] Neither by disparaging nor disprofiting him. There is an elegance in the original that cannot be translated into English. Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour] Or receiveth, or endureth. The tale bearer carrieth the devil in his tongue; the tale hearer in his ear. Plautus wisheth that the one may be hanged by his tongue, and the other by his ear; the receiver, we say, is as bad as the thief. Not only he that maketh a lie, but he that loveth it, is excluded heaven, Revelation 22:15. It is evil to sow reports and slanders, but worse to harrow them in. The heathen could say, He that easily believeth slanders, aut improbis, out puerilibus est moribus, is either a knave or a fool.

(3) He that backbiteth not.—Literally, he has not footed it on his tongue. Very expressive of those who go about from house to house carrying tittle- tattle. (Comp. 1 Timothy 5:13.) Reproach.—The Hebrew word has a striking derivation. Properly, the stripping of the trees of autumn fruit; so, stripping honour and reputation from a person. Two different words are in the Hebrew for “neighbour.” Translate, “Who does no ill to his friend, nor carries a reproach against his neighbour.” The marginal receiveth, or endureth, is quite against the context.

Verse 3. He that backbiteth not with his tongue] לא רגל על לשנו lo ragal al leshono, "he foots not upon his tongue." 4. He is one who treats his neighbour with respect. He says nothing that might injure him in his character, person, or property; he forgets no calumny, he is author of no slander, he insinuates nothing by which his neighbour may be injured. The tongue, because of its slanderous conversation, is represented in the nervous original as kicking about the character of an absent person; a very common vice, and as destructive as it is common: but the man who expects to see God abhors it, and backbites not with his tongue. The words backbite and backbiter come from the Anglo-Saxon bac, the back, and [A.S.], to bite. How it came to be used in the sense it has in our language, seems at first view unaccountable; but it was intended to convey the treble sense of knavishness, cowardice, and brutality. He is a knave, who would rob you of your good name; he is a coward, that would speak of you in your absence what he dared not to do in your presence; and only an ill-conditioned dog would fly at and bite your back when your face was turned. All these three ideas are included in the term; and they all meet in the detractor and calumniator. His tongue is the tongue of a knave, a coward, and a dog. Such a person, of course, has no right to the privileges of the Church militant, and none of his disposition can ever see God. Nor doeth evil to his neighbour] 5. He not only avoids evil speaking, but he avoids also evil acting towards his neighbour. He speaks no evil of him; he does no evil to him; he does him no harm; he occasions him no wrong. On the contrary, he gives him his due. See under the second particular. See Clarke on Psalms 15:2. Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.] 6. The word חרפה cherpah, which we here translate a reproach, comes from חרף charaph, to strip, or make bare, to deprive one of his garments; hence חרף choreph, the winter, because it strips the fields of their clothing, and the trees of their foliage. By this, nature appears to be dishonoured and disgraced. The application is easy: a man, for instance, of a good character is reported to have done something wrong: the tale is spread, and the slanderers and backbiters carry it about; and thus the man is stripped of his fair character, of his clothing of righteousness, truth, and honesty. All may be false; or the man, in an hour of the power of darkness, may have been tempted and overcome; may have been wounded in the cloudy and dark day, and deeply mourns his fall before God. Who that has not the heart of a devil would not strive rather to cover than make bare the fault?

3. In the preceding verse the present participle is used; but here the perfect tense, describing how his actual behaviour has been governed by the principles of truth and justice. He that hath had no slander on his tongue, Nor done evil to his fellow, Nor taken up reproach against his neighbour. Neighbour in A.V. represents two different words. Friend (R.V.) however is somewhat too strong for the first, which denotes anyone with whom he is associated in the intercourse of life. The general sense of the last line is clear. He has not made his neighbour’s faults or misfortunes the object of his ridicule or sarcasm (Psalms 69:20). The precise meaning is however not quite certain. Either (1) uttered reproach, or (2) taken up, and given currency to, what might otherwise have lain unheeded; or (3), as is most probable, loaded his neighbour with reproach, adding to the burden of his trouble (Psalms 69:7).

He that backbiteth not with his tongue - The word “backbite” means to censure; slander; reproach; speak evil of.

3. The remaining verses of the psalm describe the character inquired after (Psalms 15:1) in its conduct toward others.