Psalm 52: The Boaster and the Olive Tree

"Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue."

"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. The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches."

"But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints."

Doeg at Nob

1 Samuel 21–22: fleeing Saul, David received bread and Goliath's sword from Ahimelech the priest at Nob. Doeg the Edomite, Saul's chief herdsman, saw it and informed Saul; at Saul's order Doeg killed eighty-five priests and the town of Nob. The psalm's "mighty man" with a lying tongue fits an informer.

Uprooted tree, flourishing tree

The wicked man is "rooted out" of the land of the living; the speaker is a green olive tree in God's house. Olive trees live for centuries and keep producing fruit; Psalm 92:13 and Jeremiah 11:16 use the same image.

Heading and poem

"To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came…" The poem speaks of a man who trusts in riches (v. 7) and a destructive tongue, but mentions neither priests nor Nob. The heading supplies a story that fits the theme of treacherous speech; it is one of thirteen historical headings, most linked to episodes in 1–2 Samuel (Psalms 3, 7, 18, 34, 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63, 142). The library's Vulgate keeps "Doëg Idumaeus" and "Achimelech."

Doeg in Jewish tradition

The Mishnah (Sanhedrin 10:2) names Doeg, with Balaam, Ahithophel and Gehazi, among four commoners who have no share in the world to come. Rabbinic tradition portrays him as a great scholar ruined by envy and slander, a reading shaped by this psalm's portrait of the destructive tongue.