NET | Psalm 101

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

  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.”