Psalms 51:5
Thou hast loved malice more than goodness: and iniquity rather than to speak righteousness.
Open Psalms 51:5 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Dilexisti malitiam super benignitatem ; iniquitatem magis quam loqui æquitatem.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ἠγάπησας κακίαν ὑπὲρ ἀγαθωσύνην, ἀδικίαν ὑπὲρ τὸ λαλῆσαι δικαιοσύνην. διάψαλμα.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from Psalms 52:5
- אָהַ֣בְתָּ רָּ֣ע מִטּ֑וֹב שֶׁ֓קֶר מִדַּבֵּ֖ר צֶ֣דֶק סֶֽלָה
The Fathers on this verse
St Augustine Answer to the Letters of Petilian, the Donatist, Chapter 1
Chapter 1. 1. Being able to read, Petilianus, I have read your letter, in which you have shown with sufficient clearness that, in supporting the party of Donatus against the Catholic Church, you have neither been able to say anything to the purpose, nor been allowed to hold your tongue. What violent emotions did you endure, what a storm of feelings surged within your heart, on reading the answer which I made, with all possible brevity and clearness, to that portion of your letter which alone at that time had come into my hands! For you saw that the truth which we maintain and defend was confirmed with such strength of argument, and illustrated with such abundant light, that you could not find anything which could be said against it, whereby the charges which we make might be refuted. …
St Augustine Expositions on the Book of Psalms, Psalm LII
5. There followeth then what? All thy might and all thy thought of iniquity all the day, and meditation of malignity in thy tongue without intermission, hath performed what, done what? “As with a sharp razor thou hast done deceit” ( ver. 3 ). See what do evil men to Saints, they scrape their hair. What is it that I have said? If there be such citizens of Jerusalem, that hear the voice of their Lord, of their King, saying, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul:” that hear the voice which but now from the Gospel hath been read, “What doth it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and of himself make wreck:” they despise all present good things, and above all life itself. …