Psalms 52:2

2 You who practice deceit, your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor.

Psalms 52:2 in Other Translations

KJV
2 Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
ESV
2 Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.
NLT
2 All day long you plot destruction. Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor; you’re an expert at telling lies.
MSG
2 You scheme catastrophe; your tongue cuts razor-sharp, artisan in lies.
CSB
2 Like a sharpened razor, your tongue devises destruction, working treachery.

Psalms 52:2 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 52:2

Thy 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. Doeg intended mischief to David, when he spoke to Saul, ( 1 Samuel 22:9 1 Samuel 22:10 ) ; so antichrist devises mischiefs against the saints of the most High, to wear them out, and thinks to change times and laws, ( Daniel 7:25 ) ;

like a sharp razor, working deceitfully;
that is, his tongue was like a razor; the razor is but a small instrument, and the tongue is but a little member: the razor is a sharp and cutting one, and so is the tongue; and therefore compared to a sharp sword, ( Psalms 57:4 ) ; see ( Jeremiah 18:18 ) ; the razor takes off the beard cleanly and wholly; Doeg's tongue was the cause of the utter ruin of Ahimelech's family and the city of Nob; and as a razor may be said to "work deceitfully", when it turns aside in the hand of him that useth it, and with the hair takes off more than it should, even skin and flesh, or cuts the man's throat; so in a deceitful and insidious manner did Doeg work the destruction of Ahimelech and the priests of the Lord.

Psalms 52:2 In-Context

1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
2 You who practice deceit, your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor.
3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth.
4 You love every harmful word, you deceitful tongue!
5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living.

Cross References 3

  • 1. Psalms 5:9
  • 2. S Numbers 6:5; Psalms 57:4
  • 3. S Psalms 50:19
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