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Psalm 52

Judgement on the Deceitful

To the leader. A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came to Saul and said to him, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech.’
¹ Why do you boast, O mighty one,
   of mischief done against the godly?^*
   All day long ²you are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
   you worker of treachery.
³ You love evil more than good,
   and lying more than speaking the truth.
          Selah
⁴ You love all words that devour,
   O deceitful tongue.

⁵ But God will break you down for ever;
   he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
   he will uproot you from the land of the living.
          Selah
⁶ The righteous will see, and fear,
   and will laugh at the evildoer,^* saying,
⁷ ‘See the one who would not take
   refuge in God,
but trusted in abundant riches,
   and sought refuge in wealth!’^*

⁸ But I am like a green olive tree
   in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
   for ever and ever.
⁹ I will thank you for ever,
   because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
   I will proclaim^* your name, for it is good.

The Speech about Women

13 Then the third, who had spoken of women and truth (and this was Zerubbabel), began to speak: ¹⁴‘Gentlemen, is not the king great, and are not men many, and is not wine strong? Who is it, then, that rules them, or has the mastery over them? Is it not women? ¹⁵Women gave birth to the king and to every people that rules over sea and land. ¹⁶From women they came; and women brought up the very men who plant the vineyards from which comes wine. ¹⁷Women make men’s clothes; they bring men glory; men cannot exist without women. ¹⁸If men gather gold and silver or any other beautiful thing, and then see a woman lovely in appearance and beauty, ¹⁹they let all those things go, and gape at her, and with open mouths stare at her, and all prefer her to gold or silver or any other beautiful thing. ²⁰A man leaves his own father, who brought him up, and his own country, and clings to his wife. ²¹With his wife he ends his days, with no thought of his father or his mother or his country. ²²Therefore you must realize that women rule over you!

‘Do you not labour and toil, and bring everything and give it to women? ²³A man takes his sword, and goes out to travel and rob and steal and to sail the sea and rivers; ²⁴he faces lions, and he walks in darkness, and when he steals and robs and plunders, he brings it back to the woman he loves. ²⁵A man loves his wife more than his father or his mother. ²⁶Many men have lost their minds because of women, and have become slaves because of them. ²⁷Many have perished, or stumbled, or sinned because of women. ²⁸And now do you not believe me?

‘Is not the king great in his power? Do not all lands fear to touch him? ²⁹Yet I have seen him with Apame, the king’s concubine, the daughter of the illustrious Bartacus; she would sit at the king’s right hand ³⁰and take the crown from the king’s head and put it on her own, and slap the king with her left hand. ³¹At this the king would gaze at her with mouth agape. If she smiles at him, he laughs; if she loses her temper with him, he flatters her, so that she may be reconciled to him. ³²Gentlemen, why are not women strong, since they do such things?’

The Speech about Truth

33 Then the king and the nobles looked at one another; and he began to speak about truth: ³⁴‘Gentlemen, are not women strong? The earth is vast, and heaven is high, and the sun is swift in its course, for it makes the circuit of the heavens and returns to its place in one day. ³⁵Is not the one who does these things great? But truth is great, and stronger than all things. ³⁶The whole earth calls upon truth, and heaven blesses it. All God’s works^* quake and tremble, and with him there is nothing unrighteous. ³⁷Wine is unrighteous, the king is unrighteous, women are unrighteous, all human beings are unrighteous, all their works are unrighteous, and all such things. There is no truth in them and in their unrighteousness they will perish. ³⁸But truth endures and is strong for ever, and lives and prevails for ever and ever. ³⁹With it there is no partiality or preference, but it does what is righteous instead of anything that is unrighteous or wicked. Everyone approves its deeds, ⁴⁰and there is nothing unrighteous in its judgement. To it belongs the strength and the kingship and the power and the majesty of all the ages. Blessed be the God of truth!’ ⁴¹When he stopped speaking, all the people shouted and said, ‘Great is truth, and strongest of all!’

Zerubbabel’s Reward

42 Then the king said to him, ‘Ask what you wish, even beyond what is written, and we will give it to you, for you have been found to be the wisest. You shall sit next to me, and be called my Kinsman.’

The River of Life

22Then the angel^* showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life^* with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants^* will worship him; ⁴they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign for ever and ever.

6 And he said to me, ‘These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants^* what must soon take place.’

7 ‘See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.’

Epilogue and Benediction

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me; ⁹but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow-servant^* with you and your comrades^* the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!’

10 And he said to me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. ¹¹Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.’

12 ‘See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. ¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’

14 Blessed are those who wash their robes,^* so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. ¹⁵Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practises falsehood.

16 ‘It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’
¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; ¹⁹if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

20 The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.^*