Bible Strands
Psalms 52:3
You love evil more than good, falsehood more than speaking truth. Selah
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses a specific adversary whose tongue actively plans destruction and operates as a "worker of deceit" during a moment of public moral crisis.
The words — אָהַ֣בְתָּ (a.Hav.ta) translates literally as "you love," and שֶׁ֓קֶר (She.ker) translates literally as "falsehood," directly naming the subject’s deliberate preference for deception over integrity.
The thread — This pattern of prioritizing lies over truth and rejecting God appears in Jeremiah 9:3, John 8:44, and 2 Timothy 3:4.
Why it lands — The text states that the subject actively chooses falsehood over truth and evil over good, requiring the reader to identify what they personally prioritize over righteousness.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 9:3 “They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.
- John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
- 2 Timothy 3:4 traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
- Micah 3:2 You hate good and love evil. You tear the skin from my people and strip the flesh from their bones.
- Revelation 22:15 But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- Jeremiah 4:22 “For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”
- Jeremiah 9:8 Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
- Romans 1:25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.
- Psalms 62:4 They fully intend to cast him down from his lofty perch; they delight in lies; with their mouths they bless, but inwardly they curse. Selah