תהלים, פרק ל״ו, פסוק ד׳

There is a tragic stage in moral decline where inner corruption completely overtakes a person's speech, intellect, and actions. At this point, falsehood becomes a primary language, and the pursuit of wisdom is entirely abandoned.

The speech of a wicked person is defined by wickedness, lies, and heresy [מצודת ציון, שטיינזלץ, מאירי]. Often, this deceit takes the form of a deep disconnect between outward appearances and inner thoughts. A person might speak words that sound pleasant and good, but this is merely a mask for the evil they are actually plotting in their heart [רד״ק]. On a deeper psychological and spiritual level, these deceitful words echo the inner voice of temptation. This voice tricks the individual by presenting sin as something enjoyable and beneficial, even though its promises are entirely fake and rooted in wickedness [אלשיך, מלבי״ם].

Following this corrupted speech comes a complete mental and practical breakdown. The individual actively stops functioning in a positive way, bringing their moral growth to a halt [אבן עזרא, מאירי]. They deliberately prevent themselves from learning wisdom, accepting moral guidance, and searching for the truth [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת דוד]. By allowing evil to take control and dulling their heart to temptation, they lose all desire to study the ways of the Torah and give up on finding the path of goodness [מאירי, שטיינזלץ, אלשיך].

This collapse is a double failure, affecting both the intellect and physical actions. Intellectually, the person fails because they refuse to think critically; if they had only used their mind, they would have easily exposed the false promises of their inner temptation and discovered the truth. Practically, they fail because they have simply stopped trying to do good. If they had a genuine desire to improve their actions, they would naturally recognize that God's commandments are upright and truly good [מלבי״ם].