Psalms 101 (NET)

Psalm 1011

101

1 A psalm of David.

I will sing about loyalty and justice!

To you, O Lord, I will sing praises!

2 I will walk in2 the way of integrity.

When will you come to me?

I will conduct my business with integrity in the midst of my palace.3

3 I will not even consider doing what is dishonest.4

I hate doing evil;5

I will have no part of it.6

4 I will have nothing to do with a perverse person;7

I will not permit8 evil.

5 I will destroy anyone who slanders his neighbor in secret.

I will not tolerate anyone who has a cocky demeanor and an arrogant attitude.9

6 I will favor the honest people of the land,10

and allow them to live with me.11

Those who walk in the way of integrity will attend me.12

7 Deceitful people will not live in my palace.13

Liars will not be welcome in my presence.14

8 Each morning I will destroy all the wicked people in the land,

and remove all evildoers from the city of the Lord.

1sn 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. 2tn Heb “take notice of.” 3tn Heb “I will walk about in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.” 4tn Heb “I will not set before my eyes a thing of worthlessness.” 5tn 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). 6tn Heb “it [i.e., the doing of evil deeds] does not cling to me.” 7tn Heb “a perverse heart will turn aside from me.” The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (’iqqesh) 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). 8tn Heb “know.” The king will not willingly allow perverse individuals to remain in his royal court. 9tn Heb “[one who has] pride of eyes and wideness [i.e., arrogance] of heart, him I will not endure.” 10tn Heb “my eyes [are] on the faithful of the land.” 11tn The Hebrew text simply reads, “in order to live with me.” 12tn Heb “one who walks in the way of integrity, he will minister to me.” 13tn Heb “he will not live in the midst of my house, one who does deceit.” 14tn Heb “one who speaks lies will not be established before my eyes.”