Psalm 52[a]

For the director of music. A maskil[b] of David. When Doeg the Edomite(A) had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”

Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
    Why do you boast(B) all day long,(C)
    you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
You who practice deceit,(D)
    your tongue plots destruction;(E)
    it is like a sharpened razor.(F)
You love evil(G) rather than good,
    falsehood(H) rather than speaking the truth.[c]
You love every harmful word,
    you deceitful tongue!(I)

Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
    He will snatch you up and pluck(J) you from your tent;
    he will uproot(K) you from the land of the living.(L)
The righteous will see and fear;
    they will laugh(M) at you, saying,
“Here now is the man
    who did not make God his stronghold(N)
but trusted in his great wealth(O)
    and grew strong by destroying others!”

But I am like an olive tree(P)
    flourishing in the house of God;
I trust(Q) in God’s unfailing love
    for ever and ever.
For what you have done I will always praise you(R)
    in the presence of your faithful people.(S)
And I will hope in your name,(T)
    for your name is good.(U)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 52:1 In Hebrew texts 52:1-9 is numbered 52:3-11.
  2. Psalm 52:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  3. Psalm 52:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 5.

52 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.

The tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.

Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.

God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.

The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:

Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.

I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

Woe to the Complacent

Woe to you(A) who are complacent(B) in Zion,
    and to you who feel secure(C) on Mount Samaria,(D)
you notable men of the foremost nation,
    to whom the people of Israel come!(E)
Go to Kalneh(F) and look at it;
    go from there to great Hamath,(G)
    and then go down to Gath(H) in Philistia.
Are they better off than(I) your two kingdoms?
    Is their land larger than yours?
You put off the day of disaster
    and bring near a reign of terror.(J)
You lie on beds adorned with ivory
    and lounge on your couches.(K)
You dine on choice lambs
    and fattened calves.(L)
You strum away on your harps(M) like David
    and improvise on musical instruments.(N)
You drink wine(O) by the bowlful
    and use the finest lotions,
    but you do not grieve(P) over the ruin of Joseph.(Q)
Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;(R)
    your feasting and lounging will end.(S)

The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel

The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself(T)—the Lord God Almighty declares:

“I abhor(U) the pride of Jacob(V)
    and detest his fortresses;(W)
I will deliver up(X) the city
    and everything in it.(Y)

If ten(Z) people are left in one house, they too will die. 10 And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them[a](AA) asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush!(AB) We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

11 For the Lord has given the command,
    and he will smash(AC) the great house(AD) into pieces
    and the small house into bits.(AE)

12 Do horses run on the rocky crags?
    Does one plow the sea[b] with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison(AF)
    and the fruit of righteousness(AG) into bitterness(AH)
13 you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar[c]
    and say, “Did we not take Karnaim[d] by our own strength?(AI)

14 For the Lord God Almighty declares,
    “I will stir up a nation(AJ) against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
    from Lebo Hamath(AK) to the valley of the Arabah.(AL)

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 6:10 Or to make a funeral fire in honor of the dead
  2. Amos 6:12 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text plow there
  3. Amos 6:13 Lo Debar means nothing.
  4. Amos 6:13 Karnaim means horns; horn here symbolizes strength.

Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;

That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;

That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.

The Lord God hath sworn by himself, saith the Lord the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.

10 And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord.

11 For, behold, the Lord commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:

13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?

14 But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the Lord the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.

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While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”(A)

His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you,(B) but to others I speak in parables, so that,

“‘though seeing, they may not see;
    though hearing, they may not understand.’[a](C)

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 8:10 Isaiah 6:9

And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:

A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.

And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.

And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?

10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.

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