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Psalm 52:1

For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, “David has come to Ahimelech’s house.” Why do you boast of mischief, mighty man? God’s loving kindness endures continually.

1For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, “David has come to Ahimelech’s house.” Why do you boast of mischief, mighty man? God’s loving kindness endures continually.
2Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
3You love evil more than good, lying rather than speaking the truth. Selah.
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Psalm 52:2 →
Notice

A mighty man’s boast of mischief meets David’s insistence that God’s loving kindness endures, even while destructive words are still being spoken.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What troubles you about the mighty man boasting of the harm he does?

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How does the final sentence change the weight you give the mighty man’s boast?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 34:8Oh taste and see that the LORD is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.Both passages affirm God’s goodness toward people, with Psalm 34 describing refuge in him and Psalm 52 affirming his enduring loving kindness.
Psalm 103:17But the LORD’s loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, his righteousness to children’s children,Both passages speak of God’s enduring loving kindness; Psalm 103 names those who fear him as its recipients.
Psalm 107:1Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.God’s loving kindness endures in both passages, grounding thanksgiving in Psalm 107 and David’s answer to boasting in Psalm 52.
Psalm 94:4They pour out arrogant words. All the evildoers boast.Both psalms name boasting as part of evildoing, exposing speech that takes pride in harm.
1 Samuel 21:7Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the best of the herdsmen who …Doeg the Edomite appears in both texts: Samuel identifies him among Saul’s servants, and the psalm’s heading names his report to Saul.
Proverbs 6:14in whose heart is perverseness, who devises evil continually, who always sows discord.Both passages describe deliberate wrongdoing, with the psalm’s surrounding lines naming destructive plots and Proverbs describing a heart that devises evil.
Isaiah 59:4No one sues in righteousness, and no one pleads in truth. They trust in vanity and speak lies. They conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.Mischief appears in both passages, and the psalm’s surrounding lines share Isaiah’s concern with lies and destructive intent.
Genesis 10:8–9Both texts describe a man as mighty; the supplied Genesis line says nothing about the boasting or mischief condemned in the psalm.
Genesis 31:29It is in the power of my hand to hurt you, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you don’t speak to Jacob either good or …Both passages mention human power to harm alongside God, though Genesis records a specific warning and the psalm affirms enduring loving kindness.
1 Samuel 22:9–19Then Doeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, answered and said, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.Both texts name Doeg reporting to Saul about David’s visit to Ahimelech.
Exodus 22:9For every matter of trespass, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any kind of lost thing, about which one says, ‘This is mine,’ …Both passages concern wrongdoing and mention God; Exodus addresses disputed property, while the psalm confronts a man boasting of mischief.
2 Timothy 3:2For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,Both passages identify boasting within a description of evil conduct, rather than treating it as a harmless display of confidence.
Where this verse fits

Injustice and anger. work conflict. fear for the future.

What the Bible says about anger →What the Bible says about fear →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Read the accusation and assurance aloud

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Encouragement

David names the evil without softening it. His confidence rests in what remains true while the mighty man boasts: “God’s loving kindness endures continually.”

Now put it in your words.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).