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Psalm 101[a]

A psalm of David.

101 I will sing about loyalty and justice.
To you, O Lord, I will sing praises.
I will walk[b] in the way of integrity.
When will you come to me?
I will conduct my business with integrity in the midst of my palace.[c]
I will not even consider doing what is dishonest.[d]
I hate doing evil;[e]
I will have no part of it.[f]
I will have nothing to do with a perverse person;[g]
I will not permit[h] evil.
I will destroy anyone who slanders his neighbor in secret.
I will not tolerate anyone who has a haughty demeanor and an arrogant attitude.[i]
I will favor the honest people of the land,[j]
and allow them to live with me.[k]
Those who walk in the way of integrity will attend me.[l]
Deceitful people will not live in my palace.[m]
Liars will not be welcome in my presence.[n]
Each morning I will destroy all the wicked people in the land,
and remove all evildoers from the city of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 101:1 sn Psalm 101. The psalmist, who appears to be a king, promises to promote justice in his land and vows to rid his royal court of evildoers.
  2. Psalm 101:2 tn Heb “take notice of.”
  3. Psalm 101:2 tn Heb “I will walk about in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.”
  4. Psalm 101:3 tn Heb “I will not set before my eyes a thing of worthlessness.”
  5. Psalm 101:3 tn Heb “the doing of swerving [deeds] I hate.” The Hebrew term סֵטִים (setim) is probably an alternate spelling of שֵׂטִים (setim), which appears in many medieval Hebrew mss. The form appears to be derived from a verbal root שׂוּט (sut, “to fall away; to swerve”; see Ps 40:4).
  6. Psalm 101:3 tn Heb “it [i.e., the doing of evil deeds] does not cling to me.”
  7. Psalm 101:4 tn Heb “a perverse heart will turn aside from me.” The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (ʿiqqesh) has the basic nuance “twisted; crooked” and by extension refers to someone or something that is morally perverse (see Ps 18:26). It appears frequently in the Book of Proverbs, where it is used of evil people (22:5), speech (8:8; 19:1), thoughts (11:20; 17:20), and life styles (2:15; 28:6).
  8. Psalm 101:4 tn Heb “know.” The king will not willingly allow perverse individuals to remain in his royal court.
  9. Psalm 101:5 tn Heb “[one who has] pride of eyes and wideness [i.e., arrogance] of heart, him I will not endure.”
  10. Psalm 101:6 tn Heb “my eyes [are] on the faithful of the land.”
  11. Psalm 101:6 tn The Hebrew text simply reads, “in order to live with me.”
  12. Psalm 101:6 tn Heb “one who walks in the way of integrity, he will minister to me.”
  13. Psalm 101:7 tn Heb “he will not live in the midst of my house, one who does deceit.”
  14. Psalm 101:7 tn Heb “one who speaks lies will not be established before my eyes.”

Psalm 101

The Good Ruler

Heading
By David. A psalm.

The Righteousness of the Lord

I will sing about your mercy and justice.
To you, O Lord, I will make music.

The Righteousness of the King

I will act wisely, following the way that is honest.
When will you come to me?
Within my palace I will conduct myself with integrity.[a]

Righteousness in His Court

I will not tolerate an evil[b] cause in my sight.
I hate unfaithfulness and apostasy.[c]
It will not stick to me.
A perverted heart shall be kept far from me.
I will not acknowledge evil.
I will silence anyone who slanders his neighbor in secret.
I cannot tolerate anyone who has arrogant eyes and a proud heart.
My eyes will watch for the faithful in the land,
so that they can be seated with me.
Those who walk in the way of integrity will serve as my ministers.
Anyone who practices deceit will not sit inside my palace.
Anyone who is a liar will not stand in my sight.
Every morning I will silence all the wicked in the land,
in order to cut off every evildoer from the city of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 101:2 More literally I will walk around in my house with wholeness of heart
  2. Psalm 101:3 Or devilish. The Hebrew word is belial, which means without restraint or without worth. In late Hebrew it became a name of Satan.
  3. Psalm 101:3 The meaning of the line is uncertain. It seems to read I hate doing of apostasies.

Psalm 101

Of David. A psalm.

I will sing of your love(A) and justice;
    to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
I will be careful to lead a blameless life(B)
    when will you come to me?

I will conduct the affairs(C) of my house
    with a blameless heart.
I will not look with approval
    on anything that is vile.(D)

I hate what faithless people do;(E)
    I will have no part in it.
The perverse of heart(F) shall be far from me;
    I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

Whoever slanders their neighbor(G) in secret,
    I will put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes(H) and a proud heart,
    I will not tolerate.

My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
    that they may dwell with me;
the one whose walk is blameless(I)
    will minister to me.

No one who practices deceit
    will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
    will stand in my presence.

Every morning(J) I will put to silence
    all the wicked(K) in the land;
I will cut off every evildoer(L)
    from the city of the Lord.(M)