Psalm 101[a]
A psalm of David.
101 I will sing about loyalty and justice.
To you, O Lord, I will sing praises.
2 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]
3 I will not even consider doing what is dishonest.[d]
I hate doing evil;[e]
I will have no part of it.[f]
4 I will have nothing to do with a perverse person;[g]
I will not permit[h] evil.
5 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]
6 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]
7 Deceitful people will not live in my palace.[m]
Liars will not be welcome in my presence.[n]
8 Each morning I will destroy all the wicked people in the land,
and remove all evildoers from the city of the Lord.
Footnotes
- 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.
- Psalm 101:2 tn Heb “take notice of.”
- Psalm 101:2 tn Heb “I will walk about in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.”
- Psalm 101:3 tn Heb “I will not set before my eyes a thing of worthlessness.”
- 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).
- Psalm 101:3 tn Heb “it [i.e., the doing of evil deeds] does not cling to me.”
- 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).
- Psalm 101:4 tn Heb “know.” The king will not willingly allow perverse individuals to remain in his royal court.
- Psalm 101:5 tn Heb “[one who has] pride of eyes and wideness [i.e., arrogance] of heart, him I will not endure.”
- Psalm 101:6 tn Heb “my eyes [are] on the faithful of the land.”
- Psalm 101:6 tn The Hebrew text simply reads, “in order to live with me.”
- Psalm 101:6 tn Heb “one who walks in the way of integrity, he will minister to me.”
- Psalm 101:7 tn Heb “he will not live in the midst of my house, one who does deceit.”
- Psalm 101:7 tn Heb “one who speaks lies will not be established before my eyes.”