Psalms 52:4-5

52:4 You love to use all the words that destroy, ¹ 

and the tongue that deceives.

52:5 Yet ²  God will make you a permanent heap of ruins. ³ 

He will scoop you up ⁴  and remove you from your home; ⁵ 

he will uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)

[52:4]  ¹ 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.

[52:5]  ² tn The adverb גַּם (gam, “also; even”) is translated here in an adversative sense (“yet”). It highlights the contrastive correspondence between the evildoer’s behavior and God’s response.

[52:5]  ³ tn Heb “will tear you down forever.”

[52:5]  ⁴ tn This rare verb (חָתָה, khatah) occurs only here and in Prov 6:27; 25:22; Isa 30:14.

[52:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “from [your] tent.”