Futility of Boastful Wickedness.

For the music director. A [a]Maskil of David, [b]when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

52 Why do you (A)boast in evil, you mighty man?
The (B)faithfulness of God endures all day long.
Your tongue devises (C)destruction,
Like a (D)sharp razor, (E)you worker of deceit.
You (F)love evil more than good,
(G)Lies more than speaking what is right. Selah
You love all words that devour,
You (H)deceitful tongue.

[c]But God will break you down forever;
He will snatch you up and (I)tear you away from your tent,
And (J)uproot you from the (K)land of the living. Selah
The righteous will (L)see and fear,
And they will (M)laugh at him, saying,
“Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,
But (N)trusted in the abundance of his riches
And (O)was strong in [d]his evil desire.”

But as for me, I am like a (P)green olive tree in the house of God;
I (Q)trust in the faithfulness of God forever and ever.
I will (R)praise You forever, because You have done it,
And I will wait on Your name, (S)for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 52 Title Possibly Contemplative; or Didactic; or Skillful Psalm
  2. Psalm 52 Title 1 Sam 22:9
  3. Psalm 52:5 Or Also
  4. Psalm 52:7 Or his destruction

To the Director: A Davidic instruction[a] about Doeg, the Edomite, when he went to Saul and told him, “David went to the house of Abimelech.”

A Rebuke to the Deceitful

52 Why do you make evil
    the foundation of your boasting, mighty one?[b]
        God’s gracious love never ceases.[c]
Your tongue, like a sharp razor, devises wicked things
    and crafts treachery.
You love evil rather than good,
    falsehood rather than speaking uprightly.
Interlude

You love all words that destroy, you deceitful tongue!

But God will tear you down forever;
    he will take you away,
        even snatching you out of your tent!
He will uproot you from the land of the living.
Interlude

The righteous will fear when they see this,
    but then they will laugh at him, saying,
“Look, here is a young man who refused to make God his strength;
    instead, he trusted in his great wealth
        and made his wickedness his strength.

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
    I trust in the gracious love of God forever and ever.
Therefore I will praise you forever
    because of what you did;
I will proclaim that your name is good
    in the midst of your faithful ones.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 52:1 Lit. maskil
  2. Psalm 52:1 Or O warrior
  3. Psalm 52:1 Lit. love is all the day

Then Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered. Now (A)Saul was in Gibeah, sitting under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing in front of him. Saul said to his servants who were standing in front of him, “Hear now, you Benjaminites! Will the son of Jesse really give all of you fields and vineyards? (B)Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? For all of you have conspired against me so that there is no one who [a]informs me (C)when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you (D)who cares about me or [b]informs me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in ambush, as it is this day.” Then (E)Doeg the Edomite, who was [c]standing in front of the servants of Saul, responded and said, “(F)I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to (G)Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10 And (H)he inquired of the Lord for him, (I)gave him provisions, and (J)gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

11 Then the king sent a messenger to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s household, the priests who were in Nob; and all of them came to the king. 12 Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.” And he [d]replied, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 Saul then said to him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, so that he would rise up against me (K)by lying in ambush as it is this day?”

14 (L)Then Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, the king’s own son-in-law, who [e]is commander over your bodyguard, and is honored in your house? 15 Did I just begin (M)to inquire of God for him today? Far be it from me! (N)Do not let the king impute anything against his servant or against any of the household of my father, because your servant knows nothing [f]at all of this whole affair.” 16 But the king said, “You shall certainly die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s household!” 17 And (O)the king said to the [g]guards who were attending him, “Turn around and put the priests of the Lord to death, because their hand also is with David and because they knew that he was fleeing and did not [h]inform me.” But the (P)servants of the king were unwilling to reach out with their hands to [i]attack the priests of the Lord. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You, turn around and [j]attack the priests!” And Doeg the Edomite turned around and [k]attacked the priests, and (Q)he killed on that day eighty-five men (R)who wore the linen ephod. 19 (S)He also struck Nob the city of the priests with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and infants; he also struck oxen, donkeys, and sheep with the edge of the sword.

20 But (T)one son of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, (U)escaped and fled [l]to David. 21 Abiathar informed David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22 Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when (V)Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would certainly tell Saul. I myself [m]have turned against every person in your father’s household. 23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, [n]even though (W)he who is seeking my life is seeking your life. For you are safe with me.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 22:8 Lit uncovers my ear
  2. 1 Samuel 22:8 Lit uncovers my ear
  3. 1 Samuel 22:9 Or set over
  4. 1 Samuel 22:12 Lit said
  5. 1 Samuel 22:14 As in LXX; MT turns aside to
  6. 1 Samuel 22:15 Lit small or great
  7. 1 Samuel 22:17 Lit runners
  8. 1 Samuel 22:17 Lit uncover my ear
  9. 1 Samuel 22:17 Lit fall upon
  10. 1 Samuel 22:18 Lit fall upon
  11. 1 Samuel 22:18 Lit fell upon
  12. 1 Samuel 22:20 Lit after
  13. 1 Samuel 22:22 LXX am responsible for
  14. 1 Samuel 22:23 Or because he

Doeg the Edomite Reports to Saul

When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been found,[a] he[b] was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the hill, with his spear in his hand. All his officials[c] were standing around him. Saul told his officials who were standing around him, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Will Jesse’s son also give fields and vineyards to all of you? Will he make all of you officers over thousands and officers over hundreds? But all of you have conspired against me, and no one tells me[d] about my son’s covenant[e] with Jesse’s son. None of you feels sorry for me and tells me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in wait, as he’s doing[f] this day.”

Then Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul’s servants answered: “I saw Jesse’s son coming to Nob to Ahitub’s son Ahimelech. 10 Ahimelech[g] inquired of the Lord for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

Saul Orders the Execution of the Priests

11 The king sent for Ahitub’s son Ahimelech the priest and for all his father’s family who were priests at Nob. All of them came to the king. 12 Saul said, “Listen, son of Ahitub!”

And he said, “Here I am, your majesty.”

13 Then Saul[h] asked him, “Why have you conspired against me—you and Jesse’s son—by giving him food and a sword, and by inquiring of God for him, so he can rise up against me to lie in wait, as he’s doing[i] today?”

14 Ahimelech answered the king, “Who among all your officials[j] is as faithful as David? He is the king’s son-in-law, the captain of your bodyguard, and he’s honored in your household. 15 Is today the first time I inquired of God for him? Absolutely not! The king shouldn’t accuse his servant, or any of my father’s family of anything, because your servant didn’t know anything at all[k] about this.”

16 The king said, “Ahimelech, you will surely die, you and all your father’s family!” 17 The king told the guards, who were standing beside him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord because they supported David,[l] and because they knew he was fleeing, but didn’t inform me.”[m] But the officials of the king did not want to lift their hands[n] to attack the priests of the Lord.

18 Then the king told Doeg, “You turn and attack the priests.” Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests. That day he killed eighty-five men who carry the linen ephod.[o] 19 He attacked the priestly town of Nob with the sword. Men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys and sheep were put to the sword.

Abiathar Takes the Ephod to David

20 One man, Ahimelech’s son Abiathar, a grandson of Ahitub, escaped and fled to David. 21 Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22 David told Abiathar, “I knew on that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would certainly tell Saul! I’m responsible for the deaths of your father’s whole family. 23 Stay with me, and don’t be afraid because the one who seeks my life, seeks your life. Indeed, you will be safe with me.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 22:6 Lit. were known
  2. 1 Samuel 22:6 Lit. Saul
  3. 1 Samuel 22:6 Or servants
  4. 1 Samuel 22:8 Lit. reveals in my ear
  5. 1 Samuel 22:8 Or agreement
  6. 1 Samuel 22:8 The Heb. lacks he is doing
  7. 1 Samuel 22:10 Lit. He
  8. 1 Samuel 22:13 Lit. he
  9. 1 Samuel 22:13 The Heb. lacks he is doing
  10. 1 Samuel 22:14 Or servants
  11. 1 Samuel 22:15 Lit. anything, great or small
  12. 1 Samuel 22:17 Lit. their hand was with David
  13. 1 Samuel 22:17 Lit. reveal in my ear
  14. 1 Samuel 22:17 Lit. to send their hand
  15. 1 Samuel 22:18 I.e. the priests