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A Promise to Rule Well

A psalm of David.

101 I will sing of your ·love [loyalty] and ·fairness [justice; judgment];
    Lord, I will ·sing praises [make a psalm] to you.
I will ·be careful to live [lead; or study] ·an innocent life [the way that is blameless].
    When will ·you [or it; C the “way that is blameless”] come to me?

I will ·live [go; walk] ·an innocent life [L in the blamelessness of my heart] in my house.
    I will not ·look at [L set before my eyes] anything ·wicked [vile].
I hate those who ·turn against you [are crooked/transgressors];
    they will not ·be found near [cling to] me.
Let those who ·want to do wrong [L have a perverse heart] stay away from me;
    I ·will have nothing to do with [L do not know] evil.
If anyone secretly ·says things against [slanders] his neighbor,
    I will ·stop [destroy; silence] him.
I will not allow people
    to ·be proud [L have broad hearts] and ·look down on others [L haughty eyes; 131:1].

·I will look for trustworthy people [L My eyes are on the faithful of the land]
    so ·I can live with them [L they may dwell with me].
Only those who ·live innocent lives [L walk in the way of blamelessness]
    will ·be my servants [L serve me].
No one who ·is dishonest [deceives] will live in my house;
    no ·liars [L one who speaks falsehoods] will ·stay around me [L be established before my eyes].
Every morning I will ·destroy [silence] all the wicked in the land.
    I will ·rid [cut off] the Lord’s city [C Jerusalem; 46:4] of people who do evil.

David wrote this psalm.

The king's song[a]

101 I will sing and praise you, Lord!
I will sing about your faithful love and your justice.[b]
I will be careful to live in a completely good way.
    When will you come to help me, Lord?
In my own home,
    I will always be completely honest.
As for evil things,
    I will not even think about them.
I hate the things that wicked people do.
    They will not be my friends.
I will keep away from people with wrong thoughts.
    I will not mix with them.
If anyone secretly speaks against his friend,
    I will destroy them.
If anyone is proud and they boast about themselves,
    I will send them away from me.
Instead, I will work with people
    that I can trust.
I will let them live with me and be my guides.
My servants will be people
    who live in an honest way.
People who deceive others or who tell lies
    will not have a place in my home.
Every morning I will remove
    any wicked person who lives in our land.[c]
Nobody who does evil things
    will remain in the city of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 101:1 David promises to serve God and to rule his people well.
  2. 101:1 ‘Faithful love’ is the love that God has for his own people.
  3. 101:8 Every morning probably means the time when David judged people. He decided whether they deserved punishment.

101 I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.

I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person.

Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.

Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.

He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.

I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord.