God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
Parallel translations
- WEB God will likewise destroy you forever. He will take you up, and pluck you out of your tent, and root you out of the land of the living. Selah.
- BSB Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
- NKJV God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
- NASB ¶But 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
- NLT But God will strike you down once and for all. He will pull you from your home and uproot you from the land of the living. 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
God will permanently overthrow the wicked man, uprooting him from life itself. It declares that divine justice will surely answer human cruelty.
Overview
After describing the man's evil, David announces God's certain judgment: he will be torn down and rooted out of the land of the living. The imagery of uprooting reverses the security the wicked thought he had. This confidence in God's justice frees believers from taking vengeance into their own hands (Romans 12:19).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Prov 2:22But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
- Ps 27:13I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
- Rev 21:8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
- Job 18:14His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors.
- Isa 38:11I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
- Prov 12:19The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
- Prov 19:9A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.
- Ps 64:7–10But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.
- Prov 19:5A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
- Ps 120:2–4Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.
- Ps 116:9I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
- Ps 7:14–16Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
- Ps 37:35–36I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
- Ps 140:9–11As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
- Ps 55:23But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
- Isa 22:19And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.
- Job 20:6–7Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
- Luke 16:27–28Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:
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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 52:5 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
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