Psalm 52–54

God Will Punish the Proud

For the director of music. A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite came to Saul and said to him, “David is in Ahimelech’s house.”

52Mighty warrior, why do you brag about the evil you do?

God’s love will continue forever.

²You think up evil plans.

Your tongue is like a sharp razor,

making up lies.

³You love wrong more than right

and lies more than truth.

Selah

⁴You love words that bite

and tongues that lie.

⁵But God will ruin you forever.

He will grab you and throw you out of your tent;

he will tear you away from the land of the living.

Selah

⁶Those who do right will see this and fear God.

They will laugh at you and say,

⁷“Look what happened to the man

who did not depend on God

but depended on his money.

He grew strong by his evil plans.”

⁸But I am like an olive tree

growing in God’s Temple.

I trust God’s love

forever and ever.

⁹God, I will thank you forever for what you have done.

With those who worship you, I will trust you because you are good.

The Unbelieving Fool

For the director of music. By mahalath. A maskil of David.

53Fools say to themselves,

“There is no God.”

Fools are evil and do terrible things;

none of them does anything good.

²God looked down from heaven on all people

to see if anyone was wise,

if anyone was looking to God for help.

³But all have turned away.

Together, everyone has become evil;

none of them does anything good.

Not a single person.

⁴Don’t the wicked understand?

They destroy my people as if they were eating bread.

They do not ask God for help.

⁵The wicked are filled with terror

where there had been nothing to fear.

God will scatter the bones of your enemies.

You will defeat them,

because God has rejected them.

⁶I pray that victory will come to Israel from Mount Zion!

May God bring them back.

Then the people of Jacob will rejoice,

and the people of Israel will be glad.

A Prayer for Help

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David when the Ziphites went to Saul and said, “We think David is hiding among our people.”

54God, save me because of who you are.

By your strength show that I am innocent.

²Hear my prayer, God;

listen to what I say.

³Strangers turn against me,

and cruel people want to kill me.

They do not care about God.

Selah

⁴See, God will help me;

the Lord will support me.

⁵Let my enemies be punished with their own evil.

Destroy them because you are loyal to me.

⁶I will offer a sacrifice as a special gift to you.

I will thank you, Lord, because you are good.

⁷You have saved me from all my troubles,

and I have seen my enemies defeated.