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Psalm 36
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 36
New Catholic Bible
Psalm 36[a]
Human Weakness and Divine Goodness
1 For the director.[b] Of David the servant of the Lord.
2 Sin speaks to the wicked man in his heart;[c]
in his eyes there is no fear of God.
3 He deludes himself with the idea
that his guilt will not be discovered and hated.[d]
4 The words his mouth utters are malicious and deceitful;
he has ceased to be wise and act uprightly.
5 Even when he lies on his bed,[e]
he is hatching evil plots.
He commits himself to a wicked course
and refuses to reject evil.
6 [f]O Lord, your kindness extends to the heavens;
your faithfulness, to the skies.
7 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments, like the mighty deep;
you sustain both humans and beasts, O Lord.
8 How precious, O God, is your kindness![g]
People seek refuge in the shadow of your wings.
9 They feast on the abundance of your house,[h]
and you give them to drink from your delightful streams.
10 For with you is the fountain of life,[i]
and by your light we see light.
11 Continue to bestow your kindness[j] on those who know you,
and your saving justice on the upright of heart.
12 Let not the foot of the arrogant tread upon me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me out.
13 Behold, the evildoers have fallen;
they are overthrown and unable to rise.
Footnotes
- Psalm 36:1 This psalm combines two contrasting pictures, which were perhaps separated at one time. On the one hand, there is a person destroyed by sin, whose heart holds no sentiment that is not turned to sin (vv. 2-5). On the other, there are creatures dedicated to God, that is, the righteous, who are peaceful and happy (vv. 6ff). These same traditional images of happiness will be found among the Prophets, suggestive of the ideal time for the installment of the future Messiah (Isa 12:2; 25:6; Jer 31:14; Ezek 47).
Christians know better than the psalmist that pride constitutes a maleficent force residing in all humans. In practice, it carries us inevitably along toward evil (see Rom 6:1-11). Through Christ, the Father preserves for us, his faithful, his salvation that shines continually upon us to render us holy and to defend us against outrages on the part of evil and the impious. The New Testament applies images from the second part of this psalm to Christ: light of humankind and inexhaustible wellspring of life (Jn 7:37f; 8:12; Rev 21:6). - Psalm 36:1 For the director: these words are thought to be a musical or liturgical notation.
- Psalm 36:2 Sin . . . heart: an alternative translation is: “An oracle is within my heart / concerning the sinfulness of the wicked.” Heart: see note on Ps 4:8. Paul cites this verse in Rom 3:18.
- Psalm 36:3 His guilt will . . . be discovered and hated: because it is an offense against God and hence punished by him.
- Psalm 36:5 On his bed: rather than meditating on God’s law both day and night (Pss 1:2; 119:55), the wicked plots evil even on his bed.
- Psalm 36:6 Your kindness . . . mighty deep: God’s influence reaches from one end of the world to the other and into every sphere. Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.
- Psalm 36:8 Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5. Shadow of your wings: see note on Ps 17:8.
- Psalm 36:9 People rejoice together before the Lord. The image is of the abundance of meat from the sacrifices. This is already a prefiguration of the Messianic Banquet of which Jesus will speak, the “Supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9). House: the earth that provides food for all living creatures (see Pss 24:2; 104:14). Streams: the means by which God brings forth the rain out of his “storehouses” (Ps 33:7), which flow into the water sources on earth and give life to creatures.
- Psalm 36:10 Fountain of life: an expression to be taken in the widest possible sense as life implying prosperity, peace, and happiness (see Pss 46:5; 133:3; Isa 12:5; 55:1; Jer 2:13; 17:13; 31:12). In Proverbs this expression designates wisdom (Prov 13:14; 16:22; 18:4) and the fear of the Lord (14:27). The passage is applied to Christ, life and light of human beings (Jn 4:10, 14). Light: through God’s loving kindness (see Pss 4:7; 31:17; 89:16; 97:11; Job 29:3) we enjoy fullness of life and well-being.
- Psalm 36:11 Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5. Heart: see note on Ps 4:8.
Psalm 36
New English Translation
Psalm 36
New English Translation
Psalm 36[a]
For the music director, an oracle, written by the Lord’s servant David.[b]
36 An evil man is rebellious to the core.[c]
He does not fear God,[d]
2 for he is too proud
to recognize and give up his sin.[e]
3 The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful;
he does not care about doing what is wise and right.[f]
4 While he lies in bed he plans ways to sin.
He is committed to a sinful lifestyle;[g]
he does not reject what is evil.[h]
5 O Lord, your loyal love reaches to the sky,[i]
your faithfulness to the clouds.[j]
6 Your justice is like the highest mountains,[k]
your fairness like the deepest sea;
you, Lord, preserve[l] mankind and the animal kingdom.[m]
7 How precious[n] is your loyal love, O God!
The human race finds shelter under your wings.[o]
8 They are filled with food from your house,
and you allow them to drink from the river of your delicacies.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.[p]
10 Extend[q] your loyal love to your faithful followers,[r]
and vindicate[s] the morally upright.[t]
11 Do not let arrogant men overtake me,
or let evil men make me homeless.[u]
12 I can see the evildoers! They have fallen.[v]
They have been knocked down and are unable to get up.[w]
Footnotes
- Psalm 36:1 sn Psalm 36. Though evil men plan to harm others, the psalmist is confident that the Lord is the just ruler of the earth who gives and sustains all life. He prays for divine blessing and protection and anticipates God’s judgment of the wicked.
- Psalm 36:1 tn In the Hebrew text the word נאם (“oracle”) appears at the beginning of the next verse (v. 2 in the Hebrew text because the superscription is considered v. 1). The resulting reading, “an oracle of rebellion for the wicked [is] in the midst of my heart” (cf. NIV) apparently means that the psalm, which foresees the downfall of the wicked, is a prophetic oracle about the rebellion of the wicked which emerges from the soul of the psalmist. One could translate, “Here is a poem written as I reflected on the rebellious character of evil men.” Another option, followed in the translation above, is to attach נאם (ne’um, “oracle”) with the superscription. For another example of a Davidic poem being labeled an “oracle,” see 2 Sam 23:1.
- Psalm 36:1 tn Heb “[the] rebellion of an evil man [is] in the midst of my heart.” The translation assumes a reading “in the midst of his heart” (i.e., “to the core”) instead of “in the midst of my heart,” a change which finds support in a few medieval Hebrew mss, the Hebrew text of Origen’s Hexapla, and the Syriac.
- Psalm 36:1 tn Heb “there is no dread of God before his eyes.” The phrase “dread of God” refers here to a healthy respect for God which recognizes that he will punish evil behavior.
- Psalm 36:2 tn Heb “for it causes to be smooth to him in his eyes to find his sin to hate.” The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. Perhaps the point is this: His rebellious attitude makes him reject any notion that God will hold him accountable. His attitude also prevents him from recognizing and repudiating his sinful ways.
- Psalm 36:3 tn Heb “he ceases to exhibit wisdom to do good.” The Hiphil forms are exhibitive, indicating the outward expression of an inner attitude.
- Psalm 36:4 tn Heb “he takes a stand in a way [that is] not good.” The word “way” here refers metaphorically to behavior or life style.
- Psalm 36:4 tn The three imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 highlight the characteristic behavior of the typical evildoer.
- Psalm 36:5 tn Heb “[is] in the heavens.”
- Psalm 36:5 sn The Lord’s loyal love/faithfulness is almost limitless. He is loyal and faithful to his creation and blesses mankind and the animal kingdom with physical life and sustenance (vv. 6-9).
- Psalm 36:6 tn Heb “mountains of God.” The divine name אֵל (ʾel, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.
- Psalm 36:6 tn Or “deliver.”
- Psalm 36:6 sn God’s justice/fairness is firm and reliable like the highest mountains and as abundant as the water in the deepest sea. The psalmist uses a legal metaphor to describe God’s preservation of his creation. Like a just judge who vindicates the innocent, God protects his creation from destructive forces.
- Psalm 36:7 tn Or “valuable.”
- Psalm 36:7 tn Heb “and the sons of man in the shadow of your wings find shelter.” The preservation of physical life is in view, as the next verse makes clear.
- Psalm 36:9 sn Water (note “fountain”) and light are here metaphors for life.
- Psalm 36:10 tn Heb “draw out to full length.”
- Psalm 36:10 tn Heb “to those who know you.” The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yadaʿ, “know”) is used here of those who “know” the Lord in the sense that they recognize his royal authority and obey his will (see Jer 22:16).
- Psalm 36:10 tn Heb “and your justice to.” The verb “extend” is understood by ellipsis in the second line (see the previous line).
- Psalm 36:10 tn Heb “the pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 7:10; 11:2; 32:11; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).
- Psalm 36:11 tn Heb “let not a foot of pride come to me, and let not the hand of the evil ones cause me to wander as a fugitive.”
- Psalm 36:12 tn Heb “there the workers of wickedness have fallen.” The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the evildoers lying fallen at a spot that is vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.).
- Psalm 36:12 tn The psalmist uses perfect verbal forms in v. 12 to describe the demise of the wicked as if it has already taken place.
Psalm 36
New International Version
Psalm 36
New International Version
Psalm 36[a]
For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord.
1 I have a message from God in my heart
concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:[b](A)
There is no fear(B) of God
before their eyes.(C)
2 In their own eyes they flatter themselves
too much to detect or hate their sin.(D)
3 The words of their mouths(E) are wicked and deceitful;(F)
they fail to act wisely(G) or do good.(H)
4 Even on their beds they plot evil;(I)
they commit themselves to a sinful course(J)
and do not reject what is wrong.(K)
5 Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness(L) to the skies.(M)
6 Your righteousness(N) is like the highest mountains,(O)
your justice like the great deep.(P)
You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.(Q)
7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!(R)
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.(S)
8 They feast on the abundance of your house;(T)
you give them drink from your river(U) of delights.(V)
9 For with you is the fountain of life;(W)
in your light(X) we see light.
Footnotes
- Psalm 36:1 In Hebrew texts 36:1-12 is numbered 36:2-13.
- Psalm 36:1 Or A message from God: The transgression of the wicked / resides in their hearts.
New English Translation (NET)
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