Bible History
Bible History

Psalm 101 - New Catholic Bible (NCB)

You are here: Home New Catholic Bible (NCB) Psalm 101

Psalm 101[a]

Norm of Life for a Good Ruler

1 A psalm of David.

I will sing of kindness and justice;
to you, O Lord, I will offer praise in song.
2 I will walk in the path of blamelessness;
when will you come to me?[b]
Within my house[c] I will act
with integrity of heart.
3 I will not allow any shameful act
to be done before my eyes.
[d]I will refuse to associate
with people who do evil.
4 Let the perverse of heart remain far from me;
I will not tolerate the wicked.
5 [e]Anyone who secretly slanders a neighbor
I will reduce to silence.
Anyone with haughty glances and an arrogant heart
I cannot endure.
6 The faithful in the land are the ones
whom I will choose to be my companions.
Only the one who follows the path of integrity
will be allowed to be my servant.
7 No one who practices deceit
will be permitted to remain in my house.
No one who utters lies
will be numbered among my companions.[f]
8 Morning after morning[g] I will banish
all the wicked from the land,
removing all evildoers from the city of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 101:1 The Lord’s covenant comprises a rule of life for every Israelite, including the king. This psalm constitutes the mirror of the ruler in whom it inculcates essential resolutions: personal integrity, choice of loyal counselors, ferreting out the arrogant, the deceitful, and the slanderous from the royal court, and the battle against injustice. The teaching is classic in the Bible, but its application is rarely carried out. Nonetheless, its main ideas continue to be vitally relevant.
    We can pray this psalm in honor of Christ the King, constituted by the Father as supreme Head of the Church and of the world (Eph 1:20-23), who alone has perfectly fulfilled the commitments mentioned herein. He is thus the invisible suzerain from whom all visible leaders (both spiritual and temporal) derive their authority (see Jn 21:15-17; Rev 1:5). Since Christ makes them his representatives, all these leaders must be loving and faithful images before their subjects.
  2. Psalm 101:2 In imitation of the heavenly King, the psalmist himself will lead a blameless life. But to do so he will need God’s help, which he prays will be forthcoming (see 1 Ki 3:7-9; see also Ps 72). When will you come to me?: some see in these words an allusion to the awaited coming of the Messiah, who was at times called “The one who is to come” (see Mt 11:3; Jn 4:25). Others offer an alternative translation: “I will attend to the wholehearted man / whenever he comes to me.”
  3. Psalm 101:2 House: the king promises to make his household free of those who abuse power. Heart . . . eyes: in the Old Testament, people were thought to act after inner (“heart”) and/or external (“eye”) influence (see note on Ps 4:7; see also Ps 119:36f; Num 15:39; Job 31:7; Prov 21:4; Eccl 2:10; Jer 22:17).
  4. Psalm 101:3 The psalmist will not desire or do evil himself nor condone it in others and will avoid all evildoers.
  5. Psalm 101:5 The norms of the king’s private life are also the fundamental principles of his governing. He will bring into his service only the “faithful” and those who follow “the path of integrity.” Reduce to silence: i.e., destroy (see Pss 54:7; 94:23). Arrogant: see note on Ps 31:24.
  6. Psalm 101:7 Will . . . companions: another translation is: “will stand in my presence.”
  7. Psalm 101:8 Evildoers will be eradicated from the kingdom. Morning after morning: the customary time for administering justice (see 2 Sam 15:2; Jer 21:12) and for receiving God’s help (see Pss 59:17; 143:8; Isa 33:2). City of the Lord: see Pss 46:5f; 48:2f, 9; 87:3.

You Might Also Like:

Psalm 101 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

101 A Psalm of David. Kindness and judgment I sing, To Thee, O Jehovah, I sing praise. 2 I act wisely in a perfect way, When dost Thou come in unto me? I walk habitually in the integrity of my heart, In the midst of my house. 3 I set not before mine eyes a worthless thing, The work of those turning ...
Read More

Psalm 101 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

101 The psalm of David. Lord, I shall sing to thee; mercy and doom. I shall sing, (The song of David. Lord, I shall sing of love and justice/I shall sing of mercy and judgement. I shall sing unto thee,) 2 and I shall understand in a way without wem; when thou shalt come to me. I went perfectly in th...
Read More

Psalm 101 - World English Bible (WEB)

A Psalm by David.101 I will sing of loving kindness and justice. To you, Yahweh, I will sing praises.2 I will be careful to live a blameless life. When will you come to me? I will walk within my house with a blameless heart.3 I will set no vile thing before my eyes. I hate the deeds of faithless men...
Read More

Psalm 101 - The Voice (VOICE)

Psalm 101A song of David.1 I will sing of God’s unsparing love and justice; to You, O Eternal One, I will sing praises.2 I will seek to live a life of integrity; when will You come to me?I will walk in my house with an honest and true heart.3 I will refuse to look on any sordid thing;I detest the wo...
Read More

Psalm 101 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Pledge of IntegrityPsalm 1011 A psalm of David.I will sing of lovingkindness and justice.To You, Adonai, I will sing praises.2 I will behave wisely in the way of integrity—when will You come to me?I walk in my house with integrity in my heart.3 No base thing will I set before my eyes.Twisted behavio...
Read More

Psalm 101 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

A Sovereign’s Pledge of Integrity and JusticeA Psalm of David.101 I will sing of loyalty and of justice; to thee, O Lord, I will sing.2 I will give heed to the way that is blameless. Oh when wilt thou come to me?I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;3 I will not set before my eyes anyt...
Read More

Psalm 101 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

A Sovereign’s Pledge of Integrity and JusticeA Psalm of David.101 I will sing of loyalty and of justice; to thee, O Lord, I will sing.2 I will give heed to the way that is blameless. Oh when wilt thou come to me?I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;3 I will not set before my eyes anyt...
Read More

Psalm 101 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Psalm 101A Sovereign’s Pledge of Integrity and JusticeOf David. A Psalm.1 I will sing of loyalty and of justice; to you, O Lord, I will sing.2 I will study the way that is blameless. When shall I attain it?I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;3 I will not set before my eyes anything t...
Read More

Psalm 101 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Psalm 101A Sovereign’s Pledge of Integrity and JusticeOf David. A Psalm.1 I will sing of loyalty and of justice; to you, O Lord, I will sing.(A)2 I will study the way that is blameless. When shall I attain it?I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;(B)3 I will not set before my eyes anyt...
Read More

Psalm 101 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 101A psalm of David.1 I will sing of your love and justice, Lord. I will praise you with songs.2 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.3 I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar.I hate all who deal croo...
Read More

Psalm 101 - New Life Version (NLV)

A Song of Praise101 I will sing of loving-kindness and of what is right and fair. I will sing praises to You, O Lord. 2 I will be careful to live a life without blame. When will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a right and good heart. 3 I will set no sinful thing in front of my eye...
Read More

Psalm 101 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Promised Faithfulness to the LordA Psalm of David.101 I will sing of mercy and justice;To You, O Lord, I will sing praises. 2 I will behave wisely in a [a]perfect way.Oh, when will You come to me?I will (A)walk within my house with a perfect heart. 3 I will set nothing [b]wicked before my eyes;(B)I ...
Read More

Psalm 101 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Psalm 101Of David. A psalm.1 I will sing of your love and justice; to you, Lord, I will sing praise.2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life – when will you come to me?I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart.3 I will not look with approval on anything that is vile.I hate wh...
Read More

Psalm 101 - New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 101Of David. A psalm.1 I will sing of your love(A) and justice; to you, Lord, I will sing praise.2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life(B)— when will you come to me?I will conduct the affairs(C) of my house with a blameless heart.3 I will not look with approval on anything that is vile.(...
Read More

Psalm 101 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Psalm 101A psalm of David.1 I will sing about your love and fairness. Lord, I will sing praise to you.2 I will be careful to lead a life that is without blame. When will you come and help me? In my own home I will lead a life that is without blame.3 I won’t look at anything that is evil and call it...
Read More

Psalm 101 - New English Translation (NET)

Psalm 101[a]A psalm of David.101 I will sing about loyalty and justice.To you, O Lord, I will sing praises.2 I will walk[b] in the way of integrity.When will you come to me?I will conduct my business with integrity in the midst of my palace.[c]3 I will not even consider doing what is dishonest.[d]I ...
Read More

61 Bible Translations

Popular Articles

Explore the Bible Like Never Before!

Bible History Online

Bible Study Tools

Top Tags