Old Testament

Psalm 52
Psalm 52
Your Tongue Is a Razor
For the choir director. A maskil[] by David.
When Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul
and said to him, “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”[]
Doeg's Sin
1Why do you boast about evil, you hero?
The mercy of God endures all day long.
2Your tongue plans destruction.
It is like a sharpened razor, you scheming liar.
3You love evil rather than good.
You love lying rather than speaking what is right. Interlude
4You lying tongue, you love every word that devours!
Doeg's Judgment
5But God will tear you down forever.
He will grab you and pull you out of your tent.
He will uproot you from the land of the living. Interlude
6Then the righteous will see and fear.
Then they will laugh at him:
7“Look, here is the man who did not make God his stronghold,
but trusted in the greatness of his wealth.
He grew strong by his destructive deeds!”
David's Delivery
8But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
9I will thank you forever because you have done this.
I will hope in your name in the presence of your favored ones
because it is good.

Footnotes

  • 52:0 A maskil is a type of hymn. It means a song that makes one wise or a skillful song. Other maskils include Psalms 53–55.
  • 52:0 See 1 Samuel 21 and 22.