Psalms 52:2-4

52:2 Your tongue carries out your destructive plans; ¹ 

it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver. ² 

52:3 You love evil more than good,

lies more than speaking the truth. ³  (Selah)

52:4 You love to use all the words that destroy, ⁴ 

and the tongue that deceives.

[52:2]  ¹ tn Heb “destruction your tongue devises.”

[52:2]  ² tn Heb “like a sharpened razor, doer of deceit.” The masculine participle עָשָׂה (’asah) is understood as a substantival vocative, addressed to the powerful man.

[52:3]  ³ tn Or “deceit more than speaking what is right.”

[52:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “you love all the words of swallowing.” Traditionally בַּלַּע (bala’) has been taken to mean “swallowing” in the sense of “devouring” or “destructive” (see BDB 118 s.v. בָּלַע). HALOT 135 s.v. III *בֶּלַע proposes a homonym here, meaning “confusion.” This would fit the immediate context nicely and provide a close parallel to the following line, which refers to deceptive words.