Psalm 101
I’m behaving
Good people on the Holy Road
A psalm of David [1]
1I’m singing a song of mercy and justice.LORD, I’m singing my song to you.
2I’m walking the Holy Road to you.
When will you get to me?
I’m being good to my family
And living the honest life.
3My eyes won’t hang on sinful sights.
I hate crooks and their crooked schemes.
They’ll get no welcome from me.
4Bad thoughts can go somewhere else.
They won’t find a home in my head.
5People who secretly badmouth their neighbors
Are going to get pulled over by me.
I won’t put up with either of these:
Snooty demeanor,
Arrogant behavior.
6I’m going to look for God-loving people.
I’ll choose my friends from them.
Fellow travelers on the Holy Road
Are the people I’ll hire for help.
7Crooks can’t live in my house.
Liars have got to go.
8Every morning in the royal court
I’ll order the wicked destroyed.
I’ll do it till Jerusalem [2] is free
Of wicked, hurtful souls.
Footnotes
1101:1
The subtitle wasn’t part of the original psalm. And the possible byline “of David,” isn’t necessarily a byline. The vague phrase could mean the song was written by David, about David, or was inspired by David. Almost half of the psalms are attributed to David in this way, 73 of 150. Ancient Jewish history tells of David playing a lyre and writing songs. For one, he wrote a song of mourning at the battlefield death of King Saul and his sons: “How have the mighty fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19-27 New American Standard Bible). An ancient Jewish scroll from about the time of Jesus, discovered among the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, reports that David wrote 3,600 songs.
2101:8
Literally “the city of the LORD.”
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