Psalms 26:1
in Psalms 26Vindicate me, O LORD! For I have walked with integrity; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Judge me, O Jehovah, for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in Jehovah without wavering.
KJV
Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide.
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This verse in Psalms 26
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe petition for judgment does indeed appear to be dangerous, but a separation from evil people is recognized to be an appropriate request from one who is well deserving. Therefore this request does not arise from the detestable pride in merits, but it is the …
This site's exposition
I have walked with integrity
on Psalms 26:1-3
David asks the LORD to try him, and names his heart and mind as the ground of the trial. Gill and Henry read walked with integrity as sincerity of purpose, a single loyalty to God. His confidence rests on the loving devotion kept before his eyes.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Or thus: he cannot justify himself against the charge of sin; he owns his iniquity is great and he is undone if God, in his infinite mercy, do not forgive him; but he can justify himself against the charge of hypocrisy, and has reason to hope that, according to the tenour of the covenant of grace, he is one of those that may expect to find favour with God.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Judge me, O Jehovah. A solemn appeal to the just tribunal of the heart searching God, warranted by the circumstances of the writer, so far as regarded the particular offences with which he was wrongly charged. Worried and worn out by the injustice of men, the innocent spirit flies from its false accusers to the throne of Eternal Right. He had need have a clear case who dares to carry his suit into the King's Bench of heaven.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Judge--decide on my case; the appeal of innocence. in mine integrity--freedom from blemish (compare Ps 25:21). His confidence of perseverance results from trust in God's sustaining grace.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Judge me And elsewhere (143:2) he says, “You shall not enter judgment [with Your servant].” Said David: When You judge the wicked, judge me, for compared to the wicked, I am a righteous man, but when You judge the righteous, do not bring me into judgment.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁפְטֵ֤נִי | shafeteni | vindicate me | H8199 → | 202 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲ֭נִי | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| בְּתֻמִּ֣י | betumi | in integrity my | H8537 → | 23 times |
| הָלַ֑כְתִּי | halakhti | I have walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וּבַיהוָ֥ה | vubayahweh | and in Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בָּ֝טַ֗חְתִּי | batachti | I have trusted | H982 → | 120 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶמְעָֽד׃ | ʾemad | I will slip | H4571 → | 7 times |
שָׁפְטֵ֤נִיvindicate me
shafeteniH8199 →202 times
יְהוָ֗הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אֲ֭נִיI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
בְּתֻמִּ֣יin integrity my
betumiH8537 →23 times
הָלַ֑כְתִּיI have walked
halakhtiH1980 →1546 times
וּבַיהוָ֥הand in Yahweh
vubayahwehH3068 →6520 times
בָּ֝טַ֗חְתִּיI have trusted
batachtiH982 →120 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֶמְעָֽד׃I will slip
ʾemadH4571 →7 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 28:7The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I give thanks to Him with my song.
it leads to
- Psalms 30:11–12
You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
- Psalms 56:3–4
When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
- Isaiah 61:10
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom…
- Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
- Psalms 40:3
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.
- Psalms 30:11–12
Through
Proverbs 20:7The righteous man walks with integrity; blessed are his children after him.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 1:12
And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 112:2
His descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
- Psalms 37:26
They are ever generous and quick to lend, and their children are a blessing.
- 2 Corinthians 1:12
About Psalms
This page draws on Cassiodorus, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS 26:1; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.