Psalm 52–55

Psalm 52

GOD JUDGES THE PROUD

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

¹Why boast about evil, you hero!^m

God’s faithful love is constant.ⁿ

²Like a sharpened razor,

your tongue devises destruction,

working treachery.^o

³You love evil instead of good,

lying instead of speaking truthfully.^p

Selah

⁴You love any words that destroy,

you treacherous tongue!^q

⁵This 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.^r

Selah

⁶The righteous will see and fear,

and they will derisively say about that hero,^As

⁷“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.”^t

⁸But I am like a flourishing olive tree

in the house of God;^u

I trust in God’s faithful love forever and ever.^v

⁹I 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.^w

Psalm 53

A PORTRAIT OF SINNERS

For the choir director: on Mahalath.^x A Maskil of David.

¹The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.”

They are corrupt, and they do vile deeds.

There is no one who does good.^y

²God looks down from heaven on the human race^B

to see if there is one who is wise,

one who seeks God.^z

³All have turned away;

all alike have become corrupt.

There is no one who does good,

not even one.^aa

⁴Will evildoers never understand?

They consume my people as they consume bread;^ab

they do not call on God.^ac

⁵Then they will be filled with dread—

dread like no other^ad—

because God will scatter

the bones of those who besiege you.^ae

You will put them to shame,

for God has rejected them.^a

⁶Oh, that Israel’s deliverance would come from Zion!

When God restores the fortunes of his people,^C

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.^b

Psalm 54

PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE

For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. When the Ziphites went and said to Saul, “Is David not hiding among us?”^c

¹God, save me by your name,

and vindicate me by your might!^d

²God, hear my prayer;

listen to the words from my mouth.^e

³For strangers rise up against me,

and violent men intend to kill me.

They do not let God guide them.^Af

Selah

⁴God is my helper;

the Lord is the sustainer of my life.^Bg

⁵He will repay my adversaries for their evil.

Because of your faithfulness, annihilate them.^h

⁶I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you.ⁱ

I will praise your name, Lord,

because it is good.^j

⁷For he has rescued me from every trouble,

and my eye has looked down on my enemies.^k

Psalm 55

BETRAYAL BY A FRIEND

For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.

¹God, listen to my prayer

and do not hide from my plea for help.^l

²Pay attention to me and answer me.^m

I am restless and in turmoil with my complaint,ⁿ

³because of the enemy’s words,^C

because of the pressure^D of the wicked.

For they bring down disaster on me

and harass me in anger.^o

⁴My heart shudders within me;^p

terrors of death sweep over me.

⁵Fear and trembling grip me;

horror has overwhelmed me.^q

⁶I said, “If only I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and find rest.^r

⁷How far away I would flee;

I would stay in the wilderness.^s

Selah

⁸I would hurry to my shelter

from the raging wind and the storm.”^t

⁹Lord, confuse^E and confound their speech,^Fu

for I see violence and strife in the city;

¹⁰day and night they make the rounds on its walls.

Crime and trouble are within it;^v

¹¹destruction is inside it;

oppression and deceit never leave its marketplace.^w

¹²Now it is not an enemy who insults me—

otherwise I could bear it;

it is not a foe who rises up against me—

otherwise I could hide from him.

¹³But it is you, a man who is my peer,

my companion and good friend!^x

¹⁴We used to have close fellowship;

we walked with the crowd into the house of God.^y

¹⁵Let death take them by surprise;^z

let them go down to Sheol alive,

because evil is in their homes and within them.^aa

¹⁶But I call to God,

and the Lord will save me.^ab

¹⁷I complain and groan morning, noon, and night,^ac

and he hears my voice.^ad

¹⁸Though many are against me,

he will redeem me from my battle unharmed.^ae

¹⁹God, the one enthroned from long ago,^af

will hear and will humiliate them

Selah

because they do not change

and do not fear God.^a

²⁰My friend^b acts violently

against those at peace with him;^c

he violates his covenant.^d

²¹His buttery words are smooth,

but war is in his heart.

His words are softer than oil,

but they are drawn swords.^e

²²Cast your burden on the Lord,

and he will sustain you;^f

he will never allow the righteous to be shaken.^g

²³God, you will bring them down

to the Pit of destruction;^h

men of bloodshed and treachery

will not live out half their days.ⁱ

But I will trust in you.^j