PSALMS 52

READING CYCLE THREE(see “Guide
to Good Bible Reading“)

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR’S INTENT AT
PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary which means
that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of
us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are
priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3).
Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above.
Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original
author’s intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has
one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph

2. Second paragraph

3. Third paragraph

4. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

A. Notice this Psalm is addressed to wicked people (use of collective singular). Most Psalms are addressed to
God.

B. This Psalm is a series of strophes that contrast the plight of the
wicked with the security of the righteous.

C. Notice it is the speech of the two groups that reveals their
hearts (motives, cf. Matt. 12:34-37).

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 52:1-4
 ¹Why
do you boast in evil, O mighty man?
 The
lovingkindness of God endures all day long.
 ²Your tongue devises
destruction,
 Like a sharp
razor, O worker of deceit.
 ³You
love evil more than good,
 Falsehood
more than speaking what is right.  Selah.
 ⁴You love all words that
devour,
 O deceitful
tongue.

52:1 This is antithetical parallelism.
Throughout the Psalm the wicked and the righteous are contrasted (JPSOA).
The Peshitta reverses the MT and comes up with “against the innocent
every day.”

The LXX makes the whole verse refer to the “wicked.” The second
line has “of lawlessness all day long.” AB (p. 11) makes the
second line sarcasm, “O devoted of El.”

▣ “boast” This verb (BDB 237, KB 248, Hiphil imperfect) in the Hiphil is often used of
self praise (cf. 1 Kgs. 20:11; Ps. 49:6; Pro. 20:14; 27:1; Jer. 49:4). In
Jer. 9:23-24 the term has both negative (false boasting) and positive
(true grounds for boasting) aspects.

▣ “O mighty man” This is one
of three vocatives used to describe wicked
people.

1. O mighty man — BDB 150, they are mighty in their boasting
about their sin; this is biting sarcasm

2. O worker of deceit — BDB 793 I construct
BDB 941 I

3. O deceitful tongue — BDB 546 construct
941; not the same root as #2, but very close (i.e., personified evil
speech, see
Special Topic: Human Speech)

▣ “lovingkindness” See

SPECIAL TOPIC: LOVINGKINDNESS (HESED).

▣ “all day long” This
denotes an extended period of time (i.e., forever). The concept of “forever”
is repeated several times in this Psalm.

1. God’s judgment — Ps. 52:5a

2. the righteous’ trust in God’s lovingkindness — Ps. 52:8b

3. the righteous’ thanksgiving to God — Ps. 52:9a

52:2 We need to remember that words matter.
They can bless or curse (cf. James 3:1-12). There is power in words (cf.
Ps. 52:4). We will give an account to God for our words (cf. Matt.
12:34-37). Speech reveals the heart.

52:3 These are shocking parallel lines of
poetry. Just think how far humans made in the image and likeness of God
have fallen! They have become polar opposites of what they were intended
to be!

The word “love” (BDB 12) is used twice in shocking ways.

1. they love evil more than good, Ps. 52:3

2. they love all words that devour, Ps. 52:4

NASB“than speaking what is right”
NKJV“than speaking righteousness”
NRSV“than speaking the truth”
TEV“than truth”
NJB“to
uprightness”
JPSOA“to speaking
truthfully”
REB“than truthful
speech”
LXX“than speaking justice”

The reason there is such variety in the translations is because this is an
unusual use of “righteousness” (BDB 841). It is often used in
the sense of “right” (cf. Ps. 23:3) but here in the sense of
“true” (cf. Ps. 58:1).

52:4 “devour” This noun (BDB 118 I) basically means to swallow and is
used as an image for destruction.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 52:5-7
 ⁵But
God will break you down forever;
 He
will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent,
 And uproot you from the land of the
living.  Selah.
 ⁶The
righteous will see and fear,
 And
will laugh at him, saying,
 ⁷“Behold,
the man who would not make God his refuge,
 But trusted in the abundance of his
riches
 And was
strong in his evil desire.”

52:5-7 This strophe contrasts what God will
do with the wicked and the response of the righteous.

1. God’s actions toward the wicked result in their death.

a. He will break (lit. “pull down”) them down forever
— BDB 683, KB 736, Qal imperfect

b. He will snatch up — BDB 367, KB 363, Qal imperfect; this is a rare word only here in the
Psalms, but note its other three occurrences refer to “fire taken to
oneself,” cf. Pro. 6:27; 25:22; Isa. 30:14

c. He will tear you away from your tent — BDB 650, KB 702, Qal
imperfect

d. He will uproot them from the land of the living — BDB 1057,
KB 1658, Piel perfect with waw

2. The reaction of the righteous to God’s acts of judgment:

a. will see — BDB 906, KB 1157, Qal imperfect

b. will fear (i.e., repent in awe) — BDB 431, KB 432, Qal
imperfect

c. will laugh at their judgment — BDB 965, KB 1315, Qal
imperfect; God laughs in Ps. 2:40; 37:13;
personified wisdom laughs in Pro. 1:26; here the righteous laugh when the
judgment of God falls on those who have rejected Him and persecuted them.
They “laugh” in the sense of “they reap what they sowed.”
Justice defeats injustice!

52:5 This imagery of “tear you away
from your tent” is an idiom related to the days of Israel’s nomadic
living in tents (nomadic and later the Exodus). This same imagery can be
seen in

1. Saul — 1 Sam.13:2 (i.e., to your homes)

2. Sheba — 2 Sam. 20:1 (i.e., to your homes)

3. Jeroboam I — 1 Kgs. 12:16; 2 Chr. 10:16 (i.e., to our own
country)

4. Paul — 2 Cor. 5:1-10 (tent as metaphor for the human body)

▣ “forever” The concept of
“forever” is mentioned in the Psalm’s three lines.

1. God’s judgment is “forever,” Ps. 52:5 (BDB 664, cf. Job
4:20; 14:20; 20:7; 23:7; Ps. 9:7)

2. God’s blessing is “forever and ever,” 52:8

a. forever — BDB 761 (see

SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER)

b. ever — BDB 723 I (compound of them both in Ps. 9:5; 10:16;
21:4; 45:6,17; 48:14; 104:5; 119:44; 145:1,2,21)

3. faithful followers’ thanksgiving is “forever,” Ps. 52:9
— BDB 761

▣ “the land of the living”
This construct (BDB 75, BDB 313) is an idiom
for life (cf. Job 28:13; Ps. 27:13; 116:9; 142:5; Isa. 38:11; Jer. 11:19).
It is in contrast to “the land of the dead,” which would be Sheol
or the Pit (see

SPECIAL TOPIC: Where Are the Dead?).

▣ “Selah” See note at Psalm
3:2 and Intro. to Psalms, VII.

52:7 Psalm 52:7 is a description of the person
referred to in Ps. 52:1-4.

1. he would not make God his refuge

2. he trusted in the abundance of his riches, cf. Job 31:24-28; Ps.
49:6-9; Pro. 11:28

3. he was strong in his evil desire

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: PSALM 52:8-9
 ⁸But
as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
 I trust in the lovingkindness of God
forever and ever.
 ⁹I
will give You thanks forever, because You have done it,
 And I will wait on Your name, for it
is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.

52:8-9 As Ps 52:5 characterized the wicked
person (i.e., uprooted), Ps. 52:8 characterizes the righteous person (i.e.,
planted).

1. He is like a green olive tree in the house of God, cf. Ps. 1:3;
92:12-14; 128:3; Jer. 11:16; 17:5-8.

2. He trusts in God’s lovingkindness forever, cf. Ps. 13:5; this
lovingkindness is forever, cf. Ps. 52:8; the wicked “trust” in
their own riches.

3. He gives thanks to God forever — BDB 392. KB 389, Hiphil
imperfect used in a cohortative
sense.

4. He will wait on His name — BDB 875, KB 1082, Piel
imperfect used in a cohortative
sense.

52:9 “Your name” It is
characterized as “it is good.” See

SPECIAL TOPIC: “THE NAME” OF YHWH.

▣ “in the presence of Your godly ones”
This could refer to

1. angels

2. faithful followers at the temple (cf. Ps. 52:8, “house of God”)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means
that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of
us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are
priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the
major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought
provoking, not definitive.

1. What is unusual about this Psalm?

2. List the different vocatives used to
describe or personify the wicked.

3. Compare what God will do to the wicked versus the righteous in
Ps. 52:5-6.

4. What do the wicked do that alienates them from God?

5. Who are “the godly ones” of Ps. 52:9?

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