Psalms 51:4
All the day long thy tongue hath devised injustice: as a sharp razor, thou hast wrought deceit.
Open Psalms 51:4 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Tota die injustitiam cogitavit lingua tua ; sicut novacula acuta fecisti dolum.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ἀδικίαν ἐλογίσατο ἡ γλῶσσά σου· ὡσεὶ ξυρὸν ἐξηκονημένον ἐποίησας δόλον.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 52:4
- הַ֭וּוֹת תַּחְשֹׁ֣ב לְשׁוֹנֶ֑ךָ כְּתַ֥עַר מְ֝לֻטָּ֗שׁ עֹשֵׂ֥ה רְמִיָּֽה
The Fathers on this verse
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm LII
4. “In iniquity the whole day upon injustice hath thy tongue thought” ( ver. 2 ): that is, in the whole of time, without weariness, without intermission, without cessation. And when thou doest not, thou thinkest; so that when anything of evil is away from thy hands, from thy heart it is not away; either thou doest an evil thing, or while thou canst not do, thou sayest an evil thing, that is, thou evil-speakest: or when not even this thou canst do, thou willest and thinkest an evil thing. “The whole day,” then, that is, without intermission. We expect punishment to this man. Is he to himself a small punishment? Thou threatenest him: thou, when thou threatenest him, wilt send him whither? Unto evil? Send him away unto himself. In order that thou mayest vent much rage, thou art going to give him into the power of beasts: unto himself he is worse than beasts. …
St Gregory Nazianzen The Oration on Holy Baptism
XXXVIII. Let us cleanse every member, Brethren, let us purify every sense; let nothing in us be imperfect or of our first birth; let us leave nothing unilluminated. Let us enlighten our eyes, that we may look straight on, and not bear in ourselves any harlot idol through curious and busy sight; for even though we might not worship lust, yet our soul would be defiled. If there be beam or mote, let us purge it away, that we may be able to see those of others also. …
St Ambrose On the Duties of the Clergy, Chapter XI. Having adduced examples of certain frauds found in a few passages of the rhetoricians, he shows that these and all others are more fully and plainly condemned in Scripture
75. The Lord also in the Gospel rejected those coming to Him with guile, saying: “The foxes have holes,” for He bids us live in simplicity and innocency of heart. David also says: “Thou hast used deceit as a sharp razor,” pointing out by this the treacherous man, just as an implement of this kind is used to help adorn a man, yet often wounds him. If any one makes a show of favour and yet plans deceit after the example of the traitor, so as to give up to death him whom he ought to guard, let him be looked on in the light of that instrument which is wont to wound owing to the vice of a drunken mind and a trembling hand. Thus that man drunk with the wine of wickedness brought death on the high priest Ahimelech, through a terrible act of treachery, because he had received the prophet with hospitality when the king, roused by the stings of envy, was following him.