Psalm 52

Revised Standard Version

Judgment on the Deceitful

To the choirmaster. A Maskil of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

52 Why do you boast, O mighty man,
    of mischief done against the godly?^[a]
    All the day ²you are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
    you worker of treachery.
³You love evil more than good,
    and lying more than speaking the truth.Selah
⁴You love all words that devour,
    O deceitful tongue.

⁵But God will break you down for ever;
    he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
    he will uproot you from the land of the living.Selah
⁶The righteous shall see, and fear,
    and shall laugh at him, saying,
⁷“See the man who would not make
    God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches,
    and sought refuge in his wealth!”^[b]

⁸But I am like a green olive tree
    in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
    for ever and ever.
⁹I will thank thee for ever,
    because thou hast done it.
I will proclaim^[c] thy name, for it is good,
    in the presence of the godly.

Footnotes

Psalm 52:1 Cn Compare Syr: Heb the kindness of God
Psalm 52:7 Syr Tg: Heb his destruction
Psalm 52:9 Cn: Heb wait for

Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.