Psalm 52-54

New American Standard Bible

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.
²Your tongue devises ^(C)destruction,
Like a ^(D)sharp razor, ^(E)you worker of deceit.
³You ^(F)love evil more than good,
^(G)Lies more than speaking what is right. Selah
⁴You love all words that devour,
You ^(H)deceitful tongue.

⁵^[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
⁶The righteous will ^(L)see and fear,
And they will ^(M)laugh at him, saying,
⁷“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.”

⁸But 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.
⁹I 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.

Foolishness and Wickedness of People.

For the music director; according to ^[e]Mahalath. A ^[f]Maskil of David.

53 ^(T)The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;
^(U)There is no one who does good.
²God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind
To see if there is ^(V)anyone who ^[g]understands,
Who ^(W)seeks after God.
³^(X)Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.

⁴Have the workers of injustice ^(Y)no knowledge,
Who eat up My people like they ate bread,
And have not called upon God?
⁵They were in great ^[h]fear there, ^(Z)where no ^[i]fear had been;
For God ^(AA)scattered the bones of ^[j]him who encamped against you;
You ^(AB)put them to shame, because ^(AC)God had rejected them.
⁶Oh, that ^(AD)the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of His people,
Jacob shall rejoice, Israel shall be glad.

Prayer for Defense against Enemies.

For the music director; on stringed instruments. A ^[k]Maskil of David, ^[l]when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is David not keeping himself hidden among us?”

54 Save me, God, by ^(AE)Your name,
And ^[m]vindicate me by ^(AF)Your power.
²^(AG)Hear my prayer, God;
^(AH)Listen to the words of my mouth.
³For strangers have ^(AI)risen against me
And ^(AJ)violent men have ^(AK)sought my ^[n]life;
They have ^(AL)not set God before them. Selah

⁴Behold, ^(AM)God is my helper;
The Lord is ^[o]the ^(AN)sustainer of my soul.
⁵^[p]He will ^(AO)pay back the evil to my enemies;
^[q]^(AP)Destroy them ^(AQ)in Your ^[r]faithfulness.

⁶^[s]^(AR)Willingly I will sacrifice to You;
I will ^(AS)praise Your name, Lord, for it is good.
⁷For ^[t]He has ^(AT)saved me from all ^[u]trouble,
And my eye has ^(AU)looked with satisfaction upon my enemies.

Footnotes

Psalm 52 Title Possibly Contemplative; or Didactic; or Skillful Psalm
Psalm 52 Title 1 Sam 22:9
Psalm 52:5 Or Also
Psalm 52:7 Or his destruction
Psalm 53 Title I.e., sickness, a sad tone
Psalm 53 Title Possibly Contemplative; or Didactic; or Skillful Psalm
Psalm 53:2 Or acts wisely
Psalm 53:5 Or dread
Psalm 53:5 Or dread
Psalm 53:5 Or possibly those
Psalm 54 Title Possibly Contemplative; or Didactic; or Skillful Psalm
Psalm 54 Title 1 Sam 23:19; 26:1
Psalm 54:1 Lit judge
Psalm 54:3 Or soul
Psalm 54:4 Lit as those who sustain
Psalm 54:5 LXX; MT The evil will return
Psalm 54:5 Or Put to silence
Psalm 54:5 Or truth
Psalm 54:6 Or With a voluntary offering
Psalm 54:7 Or it; i.e., His name
Psalm 54:7 Or distress

Psalm 52-54

New International Version

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.”

¹Why 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?
²You who practice deceit,^(D)
    your tongue plots destruction;^(E)
    it is like a sharpened razor.^(F)
³You love evil^(G) rather than good,
    falsehood^(H) rather than speaking the truth.^[c]
⁴You love every harmful word,
    you deceitful tongue!^(I)

⁵Surely 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)
⁶The righteous will see and fear;
    they will laugh^(M) at you, saying,
⁷“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!”

⁸But 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.
⁹For 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)

Psalm 53^[d]^(V)

For the director of music. According to mahalath.^[e] A maskil^[f] of David.

¹The fool^(W) says in his heart,
“There is no God.”^(X)
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
there is no one who does good.

²God looks down from heaven^(Y)
    on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,^(Z)
    any who seek God.^(AA)
³Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt;
    there is no one who does good,
    not even one.^(AB)

⁴Do all these evildoers know nothing?

They devour my people as though eating bread;
    they never call on God.
⁵But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
    where there was nothing to dread.^(AC)
God scattered the bones^(AD) of those who attacked you;^(AE)
    you put them to shame,^(AF) for God despised them.^(AG)

⁶Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Psalm 54^[g]

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil^[h] of David. When the Ziphites^(AH) had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David hiding among us?”

¹Save me^(AI), O God, by your name;^(AJ)
vindicate me by your might.^(AK)
²Hear my prayer, O God;^(AL)
listen to the words of my mouth.

³Arrogant foes are attacking me;^(AM)
ruthless people^(AN) are trying to kill me^(AO)—
people without regard for God.^[i]^(AP)

⁴Surely God is my help;^(AQ)
the Lord is the one who sustains me.^(AR)

⁵Let evil recoil^(AS) on those who slander me;
in your faithfulness^(AT) destroy them.

⁶I will sacrifice a freewill offering^(AU) to you;
I will praise^(AV) your name, Lord, for it is good.^(AW)
⁷You have delivered me^(AX) from all my troubles,
and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.^(AY)

Footnotes

Psalm 52:1 In Hebrew texts 52:1-9 is numbered 52:3-11.
Psalm 52:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
Psalm 52:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 5.
Psalm 53:1 In Hebrew texts 53:1-6 is numbered 53:2-7.
Psalm 53:1 Title: Probably a musical term
Psalm 53:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
Psalm 54:1 In Hebrew texts 54:1-7 is numbered 54:3-9.
Psalm 54:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
Psalm 54:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible is made available by The Lockman Foundation

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 52-54

New American Standard Bible

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.”

Foolishness and Wickedness of People.

For the music director; according to ^[e]Mahalath. A ^[f]Maskil of David.

Prayer for Defense against Enemies.

For the music director; on stringed instruments. A ^[k]Maskil of David, ^[l]when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is David not keeping himself hidden among us?”

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 52-54

New International Version

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.”

Psalm 53^[d]^(V)

For the director of music. According to mahalath.^[e] A maskil^[f] of David.

Psalm 54^[g]

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil^[h] of David. When the Ziphites^(AH) had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David hiding among us?”

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Psalm 52-54 New American Standard Bible

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.”

Foolishness and Wickedness of People.

For the music director; according to [e]Mahalath. A [f]Maskil of David.

Prayer for Defense against Enemies.

For the music director; on stringed instruments. A [k]Maskil of David, [l]when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is David not keeping himself hidden among us?”

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 52-54 New International Version

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.”

Psalm 53[d](V)

For the director of music. According to mahalath.[e] A maskil[f] of David.

Psalm 54[g]

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil[h] of David. When the Ziphites(AH) had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David hiding among us?”

Footnotes

Cross references

More on the NIV

Psalm 52-54

New American Standard Bible

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.”

For the music director; according to ^[e]Mahalath. A ^[f]Maskil of David.

For the music director; on stringed instruments. A ^[k]Maskil of David, ^[l]when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is David not keeping himself hidden among us?”

Psalm 52-54

New International Version

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.”

Psalm 53^[d]^(V)

For the director of music. According to mahalath.^[e] A maskil^[f] of David.

Psalm 54^[g]

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil^[h] of David. When the Ziphites^(AH) had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David hiding among us?”