Psalms 52:2
in Psalms 52Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thy tongue deviseth very wickedness, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
KJV
Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
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This verse in Psalms 52
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThy tongue deviseth mischiefs,.... Abundance of mischiefs, in a variety of ways, against many persons, even all good men. What properly belongs to the heart is here ascribed to the tongue; because, as Aben Ezra observes, it is the interpreter and discoverer of the thoughts of the heart: out of the abundance of that the tongue speaks and declares the mischief it has devised.
This site's exposition
Why do you boast of evil
on Psalms 52:1-2
The boast of a mighty man stands against God's loving devotion, which endures all day long. The heading names him Doeg, the Edomite who killed the priests of Nob at 1 Samuel 22:18. His tongue is a sharpened razor doing a blade's work.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It will not save us from the guilt of lying to be able to say, "There was some truth in what we said," if we pervert it, and make it to appear otherwise than it was. Subtlety in sin: " Thy tongue devises mischiefs; that is, it speaks the mischief which thy heart devises." The more there is of craft and contrivance in any wickedness the more there is of the devil in it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs. Thou speakest with an ulterior design. The information given was for Saul's assistance apparently, but in very deed in his heart the Edomite hated the priests of the God of Jacob. It is a mark of deep depravity, when the evil spoken is craftily intended to promote a yet greater evil. Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. David represents the false tongue as being effectual for mischief, like a razor which, unawares to the person operated on, is making him bald; so softly and deftly do Oriental barbers perform their work.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man? Why do you boast and brag of the evil that you do, you who are mighty in Torah?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַ֭וּוֹת | havot | destruction<s> | H1942 → | 16 times |
| תַּחְשֹׁ֣ב | tachsho | it plots | H2803 → | 124 times |
| לְשׁוֹנֶ֑ךָ | leshonekha | tongue your | H3956 → | 117 times |
| כְּתַ֥עַר | ketaar | like a razor | H8593 → | |
| מְ֝לֻטָּ֗שׁ | melutash | sharpened | H3913 → | |
| עֹשֵׂ֥ה | ʾoseh | O doer of | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| רְמִיָּֽה׃ | remiyah | deceit | H7423 → | 15 times |
הַ֭וּוֹתdestruction<s>
havotH1942 →16 times
תַּחְשֹׁ֣בit plots
tachshoH2803 →124 times
לְשׁוֹנֶ֑ךָtongue your
leshonekhaH3956 →117 times
כְּתַ֥עַרlike a razor
ketaarH8593 →
מְ֝לֻטָּ֗שׁsharpened
melutashH3913 →
עֹשֵׂ֥הO doer of
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
רְמִיָּֽה׃deceit
remiyahH7423 →15 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 18:21Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
it leads to
- Ephesians 4:29
Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.
- Matthew 12:35–37
The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.
- Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
- Proverbs 10:19–21
When words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.
- James 3:6–9
The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on…
- Ephesians 4:29
Through
Proverbs 12:18Speaking rashly is like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
it leads to
- Proverbs 16:24
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
- Proverbs 15:4
A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.
- Psalms 57:4
My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts— with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
- Proverbs 16:24
About Psalms
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.