You love evil more than good, Lies more than speaking what is right. 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.
- BSB You love evil more than good, falsehood more than speaking truth. Selah
- NKJV You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. 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 tongue, as their bow, for falsehood; and they have grown strong in the land, but not for truth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they don’t know me,” says Yahweh.
- John 8:44You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father.
- 2 Tim 3:4traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;
- Mic 3:2You who hate the good, and love the evil; who tear off their skin, and their flesh from off their bones;
- Rev 22:15Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- Rom 1:25who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
- Jer 9:8Their tongue is a deadly arrow. It speaks deceit. One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart, he lays wait for him.
- Jer 4:22“For my people are foolish, they don’t know me. They are foolish children, and they have no understanding. They are skillful in doing evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.”
- Ps 62:4They fully intend to throw him down from his lofty place. They delight in lies. They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. 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.