Judaism
Psalms 52
Text
For the Leader. Maschil of David;
when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him: 'David is come to the house of Ahimelech.'
Why boastest thou thyself of evil, O mighty man? The mercy of God endureth continually.
Thy tongue deviseth destruction; Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
Thou lovest evil more than good; Falsehood rather than speaking righteousness. Selah
Thou lovest all devouring words, The deceitful tongue.
God will likewise break thee for ever, He will take thee up, and pluck thee out of thy tent, And root thee out of the land of the living. Selah
The righteous also shall see, and fear, And shall laugh at him:
'Lo, this is the man that made not God his stronghold; But trusted in the abundance of his riches, And strengthened himself in his wickedness.'
But as for me, I am like a leafy olive-tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
I will give Thee thanks for ever, because Thou hast done it; And I will wait for Thy name, for it is good, in the presence of Thy saints.
Text: The Holy Scriptures, Jewish Publication Society (1917), public domain, via Sefaria.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”
Hadith (An-Nawawi 13)
“None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
Mahabharata 5.1517
“One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself.”
Dhammapada 129 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“All tremble at the rod, all fear death. Treating others like oneself, neither kill nor incite to kill.”
Divine Compassion & Mercy
Quran 1:1
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.”
Luke 6:36
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”
Snp 1.8 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“Even as a mother would protect with her life her child, her only child, so too for all creatures unfold a boundless heart.”
Guru Granth Sahib, Ang 1
“ik oankaar sat naam: one Creator, whose Name is Truth, beyond fear and enmity.”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
Dhammapada 2 (trans. Bhikkhu Sujato)
“Intention is the leader of things; intention is first, they’re made by intention. If with pure intent you speak or act, happiness follows you like a shadow that never leaves.”
Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 16 (trans. Edwin Arnold)
“The Doors of Hell Are threefold, whereby men to ruin pass, The door of Lust, the door of Wrath, the door Of Avarice. Let a man shun those three!”