Psalm 52–55

PSALM 52

I Trust in the Lovingkindness of God

For the choir director. A ^†Maskil of David. ^•When Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

¹Why do you ^aboast in evil, O mighty man?

The ^blovingkindness of God endures all day long.

²Your tongue devises ^adestruction,

Like a ^bsharp razor, ^cO worker of deceit.

³You ^alove evil more than good,

^bFalsehood more than speaking what is right. ¹Selah.

⁴You love all words that devour,

O ^adeceitful tongue.

⁵¹But God will break you down forever;

He will snatch you up and ^atear you away from your tent,

And ^buproot you from the ^cland of the living, Selah.

⁶So that the righteous will ^asee and fear,

And will ^blaugh at him, saying,

⁷“Behold, the man who would not set God as his strength,

But ^atrusted in the abundance of his riches

And ^bwas strong in his destruction.”

⁸But as for me, I am like a ^agreen olive tree in the house of God;

I ^btrust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.

⁹I will ^agive You thanks forever, because You have done it,

And I will hope on Your name, ^bfor it is good, in the presence of Your holy ones.

PSALM 53

There Is No One Who Does Good

For the choir director. According to ^†Mahalath. A ^•Maskil of David.

^1aThe wicked fool says in his heart, “There is no God,”

They act corruptly, and commit abominable injustice;

^bThere is no one who does good.

²God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men

To see if there is ^aanyone who has insight,

Anyone who ^bseeks after God.

^3aEvery one of them has turned back; together they have become ¹worthless;

There is no one who does good, not even one.

⁴Do the workers of iniquity ^anot know,

Who eat up my people as they eat bread

And do not call upon God?

⁵There they were in great dread ^awhere no dread had been;

For God ^bscattered the bones of ¹him who encamped against you;

You ^cput them to shame, because ^dGod had rejected them.

⁶Oh, that ^athe salvation of Israel ¹would come out of Zion!

When God ²restores His captive people,

³May Jacob rejoice, may Israel be glad.

PSALM 54

God Is My Helper

For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A ^†Maskil of David. ^•When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is not David hiding himself among us?”

¹O God, save me by ^aYour name,

And render justice to me by ^bYour might.

^2aO God, hear my prayer;

^bGive ear to the words of my mouth.

³For strangers have ^arisen against me

And ^bruthless men have ^csought my ¹life;

They have ^dnot set God before them. ²Selah.

⁴Behold, ^aGod is my helper;

The Lord is among those who ^bsustain my soul.

⁵He will ^areturn the evil to my foes;

^bDestroy them ^cin Your truth.

^6aWith a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You;

I will give ^bthanks to Your name, O Yahweh, for it is good.

⁷For ¹He has ^adelivered me from all ²distress,

And my eye has ^blooked in triumph upon my enemies.

PSALM 55

He Will Never Allow the Righteous to Be Shaken

For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A ^†Maskil of David.

^1aGive ear to my prayer, O God;

And ^bdo not hide Yourself from my supplication.

²Give ^aheed to me and answer me;

I am restless in my ^bcomplaint and ^1cam surely distracted,

³Because of the voice of the enemy,

Because of the ^apressure of the wicked;

For they ^bshake wickedness down upon me

And in anger they ^cbear a grudge against me.

⁴My ^aheart is in anguish within me,

And the terrors of ^bdeath have fallen upon me.

⁵Fear and ^atrembling come upon me,

And ^1bhorror has covered me.

⁶I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and ^1abe at rest.

⁷“Behold, I would wander far away,

I would ^alodge in the wilderness. ¹Selah.

⁸“I would hasten to my place of refuge

From the ^astormy wind and tempest.”

⁹¹Confuse, O Lord, ^adivide their tongues,

For I have seen ^bviolence and strife in the city.

¹⁰Day and night they go around her upon her walls,

And wickedness and mischief are in her midst.

^11aDestruction is in her midst;

^bOppression and deceit do not depart from her ¹streets.

¹²For it is ^anot an enemy who reproaches me,

Then I could bear it;

Nor is it one who hates me who ^bhas magnified himself against me,

Then I could hide myself from him.

¹³But it is you, a man ¹my equal,

My ^aclose companion and my ^2bfamiliar friend;

¹⁴We who had sweet counsel together

^aWalked in the house of God in the throng.

¹⁵Let ¹death come ^adeceitfully upon them;

Let them ^bgo down alive to Sheol,

For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

¹⁶As for me, I shall ^acall upon God,

And Yahweh will save me.

^17aEvening and ^bmorning and at ^cnoon, I will bring my complaint and moan,

And He will hear my voice.

¹⁸He will ^aredeem my soul in peace ¹from the battle which is against me,

For they are ^bmany who strive with me.

¹⁹God will ^ahear and ¹answer them—

Even the one ^bwho ²sits enthroned from of old— Selah.

Because they ³do not change,

And ^cdo not fear God.

²⁰¹My companion has put forth his hands against ^athose who were at peace with him;

He has ^2bviolated his covenant.

²¹His ¹speech was ^asmoother than butter,

But his heart was war;

His words were ^bsofter than oil,

Yet they were drawn ^cswords.

^22aCast ¹your burden upon Yahweh and He will sustain you;

^bHe will never allow the righteous to ^2cbe shaken.

²³But You, O God, will bring them down to the ^1apit of corruption;

^bMen of bloodshed and deceit will ^cnot live out half their days.

But I will ^dtrust in You.