“Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth and strengthened himself by destruction.”
Parallel translations
- WEB “Behold, this is the man who didn’t make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.”
- KJV Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
- NKJV “Here is the man who did not make God his strength, But trusted in the abundance of his riches, And strengthened himself in his wickedness.”
- NASB “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, But trusted in the abundance of his riches And was strong in his evil desire.”
- NLT “Look what happens to mighty warriors who do not trust in God. They trust their wealth instead and grow more and more bold in their wickedness.”
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 righteous identify the fallen man as one who trusted riches and wickedness instead of God. It warns that misplaced trust leads to ruin.
Overview
The onlookers draw the lesson: this man made wealth and evil his refuge rather than God. His downfall exposes the folly of trusting anything but the Lord. The verse echoes the wider biblical warning that riches cannot save and that security is found only in God (Proverbs 11:28; 1 Timothy 6:17).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Jer 17:5This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Eccl 8:8As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.
- Ps 49:6–20They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
- Ps 73:18–20Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
- Job 31:24–25If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security,
- John 19:5When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
- 1 Tim 6:17Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.
- Isa 14:16–17Those who see you will stare; they will ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made the kingdoms tremble,
- Ps 146:3–5Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.
- Ps 62:9–10Lowborn men are but a vapor, the exalted but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.
- Hos 12:7–8A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands.
- Ps 73:7–11From their prosperity proceeds iniquity; the imaginations of their hearts run wild.
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 52:7 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.