Psalm 52

God Judges the Proud

For the choir director. A Davidic Maskil. When Doeg the Edomite went and reported to Saul, telling him, “David went to Ahimelech’s house.”(A)

Why brag about evil, you hero!(B)
God’s faithful love is constant.(C)
Like a sharpened razor,
your tongue devises destruction,
working treachery.(D)
You love evil instead of good,
lying instead of speaking truthfully.(E)Selah
You love any words that destroy,
you treacherous tongue!(F)

This is why God will bring you down forever.
He will take you, ripping you out of your tent;
He will uproot you from the land of the living.(G)Selah
The righteous will look on with awe
and will ridicule him:(H)
“Here is the man
who would not make God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches,
taking refuge in his destructive behavior.”[a](I)

But I am like a flourishing olive tree
in the house of God;(J)
I trust in God’s faithful love forever and ever.(K)
I will praise You forever for what You have done.
In the presence of Your faithful people,
I will put my hope in Your name, for it is good.(L)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 52:7 Or riches, and grew strong in his evil desire; lit his destruction

Psalm 52

For the music leader. A maskil[a] of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, “David has gone to Ahimelech’s house.”

52 Hey, powerful person!
    Why do you brag about evil?
    God’s faithful love lasts all day long.
Your tongue devises destruction:
    it’s like a sharpened razor, causing deception.
You love evil more than good;
    you love lying more than speaking what is right. Selah
You love all destructive words;
    you love the deceiving tongue.

But God will take you down permanently;
    he will snatch you up,
    tear you out of your tent,
    and uproot you from the land of the living! Selah
The righteous will see and be in awe;
    they will laugh at those people:
“Look at them! They didn’t make God their refuge.
    Instead, they trusted in their own great wealth.
        They sought refuge in it—to their own destruction!”

But I am like a green olive tree in God’s house;
    I trust in God’s faithful love forever and always.
I will give thanks to you, God, forever,
    because you have acted.
In the presence of your faithful people,
    I will hope in your name because it’s so good.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 52:1 Perhaps instruction