Psalm 52 concerns a lying tyrant and God's impending judgment. Mary Sidney, who lived 1561-1621, was an extraordinary writer, editor, and literary patron. Like many talented writers of her time, she translated all the psalms. Here we talk about translation, early modern women's writing, religious engagements with politics, and the power of Psalm 52.

For more on Mary Sidney, see The Poetry Foundation page: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mary-sidney-herbert

For the Geneva translation of Psalm 52, which Mary Sidney would have known, see here:

For a new collection of English translations of the psalms in the early modern era, see The Psalms in English 1530-1633 (Tudor and Stuart Translations), edited by Hannibal Hamlin.

Psalm 52

Tyrant, why swell’st thou thus,

Lewd lies thy tongue contrives,

Falsehood thy wit approves,

Not words from cursed thee,

Think’st thou to bear it so?

The just shall fearing see

Lo, lo, the wretched wight,

I as an olive tree

My trust in his true love

Thee will I honour still,

Thy saints trust in thy name,