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
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
36 A psalm for David himself. Be not emulous of evildoers; nor envy them that work iniquity.
2 For they shall shortly wither away as grass, and as the green herbs shall quickly fall.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches.
4 Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart.
5 Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in him, and he will do it.
6 And he will bring forth thy justice as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7 Be subject to the Lord and pray to him Envy not the man who prospereth in his way; the man who doth unjust things.
8 Cease from anger, and leave rage; have no emulation to do evil.
9 For the evildoers shall be cut off: but they that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the land.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: and thou shalt seek his place, and shalt not find it.
11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight in abundance of peace.
12 The sinner shall watch the just man: and shall gnash upon him with his teeth.
13 But the Lord shall laugh at him: for he foreseeth that his day shall come.
14 The wicked have drawn out the sword: they have bent their bow. To cast down the poor and needy, to kill the upright of heart.
15 Let their sword enter into their own hearts, and let their bow be broken.
16 Better is a little to the just, than the great riches of the wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken in pieces; but the Lord strengtheneth the just.
18 The Lord knoweth the days of undefiled; and their inheritance shall be for ever.
19 They shall not be confounded in the evil time; and in the days of famine they shall be filled:
20 Because the wicked shall perish. And the enemies of the Lord, presently after they shall be honoured and exalted, shall come to nothing and vanish like smoke.
21 The sinner shall borrow, and not pay again; but the just sheweth mercy and shall give.
22 For such as bless him shall inherit the land: but such as curse him shall perish.
23 With the Lord shall the steps of a man be directed, and he shall like well his way.
24 When he shall fall he shall not be bruised, for the Lord putteth his hand under him.
25 I have been young, and now am old; and I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread.
26 He sheweth mercy, and lendeth all the day long; and his seed shall be in blessing.
27 Decline from evil and do good, and dwell for ever and ever.
28 For the Lord loveth judgment, and will not forsake his saints: they shall be preserved for ever. The unjust shall be punished, and the seed of the wicked shall perish.
29 But the just shall inherit the land, and shall dwell therein for evermore.
30 The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom: and his tongue shall speak judgment.
31 The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps shall not be supplanted.
32 The wicked watcheth the just man, and seeketh to put him to death,
33 But the Lord will not leave in his hands; nor condemn him when he shall be judged.
34 Expect the Lord and keep his way: and he will exalt thee to inherit the land: when the sinners shall perish thou shalt see.
35 I have seen the wicked highly exalted, and lifted up like the cedars of Libanus.
36 And I passed by, and lo, he was not: and I sought him and his place was not found.
37 Keep innocence, and behold justice: for there are remnants for the peaceable man.
38 But the unjust shall be destroyed together: the remnants of the wicked shall perish.
39 But the salvation of the just is from the Lord, and he is their protector in the time of trouble.
40 And the Lord will help them and deliver them: and he will rescue them from the wicked, and save them, because they have hoped in him.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)