Psalms 52:2

2 All day thy tongue thought unrightfulness; as a sharp razor thou hast done guile. (Thy tongue speaketh unrighteousness, sharp like a razor; yea, thou hast been deceitful.)

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 To victory, the psalm of David, when Doeg (the) Idumaean came, and told to Saul, and said to him, David came into the house of Ahimelech. What hast thou glory in malice; which art mighty in wickedness? (To victory, the song of David, when Doeg the Edomite came, and told Saul, and said to him, David went into the house of Ahimelech. Why hast thou glory in evil, or in wickedness, mighty man? but the goodness of God endureth forever.)
2 All day thy tongue thought unrightfulness; as a sharp razor thou hast done guile. (Thy tongue speaketh unrighteousness, sharp like a razor; yea, thou hast been deceitful.)
3 Thou lovedest malice more than benignity; and wickedness more than to speak equity. (Thou lovedest evil more than good; and lying more than telling the truth.)
4 Thou lovedest all words of casting down; with a guileful tongue. (Thou with a deceitful, or a lying, tongue.)
5 Therefore God shall destroy thee into the end, he shall draw thee out by the root, and he shall make thee to pass away from thy tabernacle; and thy root from the land of living men. (And so God shall destroy thee, or ruin thee, forever, yea, he shall draw thee out, and he shall make thee go far away from thy home; he shall root thee out from the land of the living.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.