Psalms 26:3-12

3 For Your ¹lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have ²walked in Your truth.

4 I do not ³sit with deceitful men, Nor will I go with ⁴pretenders.

5 I ⁵hate the assembly of evildoers, And I will not sit with the wicked.

6 I shall ⁶wash my hands in innocence, And I will go about ⁷Your altar, O LORD,

7 That I may proclaim with the voice of ⁸thanksgiving And declare all Your wonders.

8 O LORD, I ⁹love the habitation of Your house And the place where Your ¹⁰glory dwells.

9 ¹¹Do not take my soul away along with sinners, Nor my life with ¹²men of bloodshed,

10 In whose hands is a ¹³wicked scheme, And whose right hand is full of ¹⁴bribes.

11 But as for me, I shall ¹⁵walk in my integrity; ¹⁶Redeem me, and be gracious to me.

12 ¹⁷My foot stands on a ¹⁸level place; In the ¹⁹congregations I shall bless the LORD.

Psalms 26:3-12 Meaning and Commentary

Psalm of David. The occasion of this psalm seems to be the quarrel between Saul and David, the former listening to calumnies and reproaches cast upon the latter, and persecuting him in a violent manner. The argument of it is the same, in a great measure, with the seventh psalm, and is an appeal made to God, the Judge of the whole earth, by the psalmist, for his innocence and integrity; Theodoret thinks it was written by David when he fled from Saul.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 48:9
• 2. 2 Kings 20:3; Psalms 86:11
• 3. Psalms 1:1
• 4. Psalms 28:3
• 5. Psalms 31:6; Psalms 139:21
• 6. Psalms 73:13
• 7. Psalms 43:3, 4
• 8. Psalms 9:1
• 9. Psalms 27:4
• 10. Psalms 24:7
• 11. Psalms 28:3
• 12. Psalms 139:19
• 13. Psalms 37:7
• 14. Psalms 15:5
• 15. Psalms 26:1
• 16. Psalms 44:26; Psalms 69:18
• 17. Psalms 40:2
• 18. Psalms 27:11
• 19. Psalms 22:22

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "faithfulness"
• [b]. Or "worthless men;" lit "men of falsehood"
• [c]. Or "dissemblers, hypocrites"
• [d]. Or "miracles"
• [e]. Lit "of the tabernacle of Your glory"
• [f]. Lit "gather"