Psalm 101

Good News Translation

A King's Promise^[a]

101 My song is about loyalty and justice,
and I sing it to you, O Lord.
²My conduct will be faultless.
When will you come to me?

I will live a pure life in my house
³    and will never tolerate evil.
I hate the actions of those who turn away from God;
    I will have nothing to do with them.
⁴I will not be dishonest^[b]
    and will have no dealings with evil.^[c]
⁵I will get rid of anyone
    who whispers evil things about someone else;
I will not tolerate anyone
    who is proud and arrogant.

⁶I will approve of those who are faithful to God
and will let them live in my palace.
Those who are completely honest
will be allowed to serve me.

⁷No liar will live in my palace;
    no hypocrite will remain in my presence.
⁸Day after day I will destroy
    the wicked in our land;
I will expel all who are evil
    from the city of the Lord.

Footnotes

Psalm 101:1 HEBREW TITLE: A psalm by David.
Psalm 101:4 not be dishonest; or stay away from dishonest people.
Psalm 101:4 evil; or evil people.

Psalm 101

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Psalm 101

A Sovereign’s Pledge of Integrity and Justice

Of David. A Psalm.

¹I will sing of loyalty and of justice;
to you, O Lord, I will sing.^(A)
²I will study the way that is blameless.
When shall I attain it?

I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;^(B)
³I will not set before my eyes
anything that is base.

I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.^(C)
⁴Perverseness of heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.^(D)

⁵One who secretly slanders a neighbor
I will destroy.
A haughty look and an arrogant heart
I will not tolerate.^(E)

⁶I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
so that they may live with me;
whoever walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me.^(F)

⁷No one who practices deceit
shall remain in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall continue in my presence.

⁸Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all evildoers
from the city of the Lord.^(G)

Psalm 101

The Message

101 ^1-8My theme song is God’s love and justice,
    and I’m singing it right to you, God.
I’m finding my way down the road of right living,
    but how long before you show up?
I’m doing the very best I can,
    and I’m doing it at home, where it counts.
I refuse to take a second look
    at corrupting people and degrading things.
I reject made-in-Canaan gods,
    stay clear of contamination.
The crooked in heart keep their distance;
    I refuse to shake hands with those who plan evil.
I put a gag on the gossip
    who bad-mouths his neighbor;
I can’t stand
    arrogance.
But I have my eye on salt-of-the-earth people—
    they’re the ones I want working with me;
Men and women on the straight and narrow—
    these are the ones I want at my side.
But no one who traffics in lies
    gets a job with me; I have no patience with liars.
I’ve rounded up all the wicked like cattle
    and herded them right out of the country.
I purged God’s city
    of all who make a business of evil.

Good News Translation (GNT)

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

The Message (MSG)

Psalm 101 Good News Translation

A King's Promise[a]