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Psalm 101

A psalm of David.

I will sing of your love and justice, Lord.
    I will praise you with songs.
I will be careful to live a blameless life—
    when will you come to help me?
I will lead a life of integrity
    in my own home.
I will refuse to look at
    anything vile and vulgar.
I hate all who deal crookedly;
    I will have nothing to do with them.
I will reject perverse ideas
    and stay away from every evil.
I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors.
    I will not endure conceit and pride.

I will search for faithful people
    to be my companions.
Only those who are above reproach
    will be allowed to serve me.
I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house,
    and liars will not stay in my presence.
My daily task will be to ferret out the wicked
    and free the city of the Lord from their grip.

A Promise to Act with Integrity

Of David. A psalm.[a]

101 I will sing of loyal love and justice;
I will sing praises to you, O Yahweh.
I will give attention to the way of integrity.
When will you come to me?
I will walk in the integrity of my heart
in the midst of my house.
I will not set before my eyes
any wicked thing.
I hate the work of those who fall away;[b]
it will not cling to me.
A perverse heart will depart from me;
I will not know evil.
One who slanders his neighbor in secret,
him I will destroy.
One haughty of eyes and arrogant[c] of heart,
him I will not endure.
My eyes will be on the faithful of the land,
that they may live with me.
He who walks in the way of integrity,
he shall minister to me.
There will not live in the midst of my house
a worker of deceit.
One who speaks lies
will not remain[d] before my eyes.
Each morning,[e]
I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
cutting off from the city of Yahweh all evildoers.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 101:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
  2. Psalm 101:3 The term “those who fall away” is a rare noun. The verb from the same root is found in Psa 40:5(4)
  3. Psalm 101:5 Literally “wide”
  4. Psalm 101:7 Hebrew “be established”
  5. Psalm 101:8 Literally “to the mornings”