You love evil more than good, falsehood more than speaking truth. Selah
Parallel translations
- WEB You love evil more than good, lying rather than speaking the truth. Selah.
- KJV Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.
- NKJV You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah
- NASB You love evil more than good, Lies more than speaking what is right. Selah
- NLT You love evil more than good and lies more than truth. Interlude
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The wicked man actively prefers evil to good and falsehood to truth. It shows that sin is a chosen love, not mere weakness.
Overview
David diagnoses the deeper problem: a heart that loves what is wrong and treasures lies. This inverted affection is the root of his destructive speech. Only a new heart, given through Christ, can reorder such loves toward truth and goodness (Ezekiel 36:26).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jer 9:3–5“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.
- John 8:44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
- 2 Tim 3:4traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
- Mic 3:2You hate good and love evil. You tear the skin from my people and strip the flesh from their bones.
- Rev 22:15But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- Rom 1:25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.
- Jer 9:8Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
- Jer 4:22“For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”
- Ps 62:4They fully intend to cast him down from his lofty perch; they delight in lies; with their mouths they bless, but inwardly they curse. Selah
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 52:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.