To the choirmaster leader, a Maskil of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech’
“Why do you boast?
O mighty man!
Why do you boast?
What is the mischief done against the godly?
All day long
You are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor.
You are a worker of treachery.
You love evil more than good.
You love lying more than speaking the truth.”
Selah
Psalm 52 is loosely based on 1 Samuel, chapter 22, where Doeg the Edomite told Saul where David was hiding. This choral Davidic psalm asked why he was boastful. This probably refers to Saul rather Doeg the Edomite. He was planning all day mischief against the good godly people. His tongue was like a sharp razor as he loved evil more than good. He was a worker of treachery. He loved lies more than truth. This first section ends with a meditative musical interlude pause, a Selah.