Psalms 52:2
Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
Study Note
Study Note
The indictment 'thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully' is addressed to the 'mighty man' (gibbor) of verse 1 — traditionally identified in the superscription with Doeg the Edomite who betrayed David's whereabouts to Saul (1 Samuel 22:9-10). The razor simile vividly captures how sharp, polished speech can be the instrument of destruction rather than craft — the tongue as weapon, deception as the mechanism of injury. James 3:5-8 develops similar tongue-as-weapon imagery in its warning about the destructive potential of uncontrolled speech, possibly drawing on the Psalmic tradition. The contrast in Psalm 52:8-9 between the deceitful man's fate and the psalmist's olive tree flourishing in God's house frames the psalm as a sustained meditation on contrasting foundations of human security.
Other Translations
Thy tongue deviseth very wickedness, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
Mischiefs doth thy tongue devise, Like a sharp razor, working deceit.
Purposing destruction, using deceit; your tongue is like a sharp blade.
Cross References
Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of …
Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?
Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the …
For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against …
Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.
Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war.
They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah.
These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: