Psalms 18:24
in Psalms 18So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Therefore hath Jehovah recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
KJV
Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
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This verse in Psalms 18
Commentary
9 notes on this verseTherefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness,.... Having proved and supported this proposition by the above reasons, it is repeated, for confirmation's sake; according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight; this phrase, "in his eyesight", is here added, to show that the righteousness of Christ was clean, pure, and spotless in the sight of God; in the eye of divine justice: hence those that are clothed with it are holy and unblamable, and irreprovable in his sight, Col 1:22.
This site's exposition
rewarded me according to my righteousness
on Psalms 18:20-24
The claim of righteousness is defined by the verses under it. Keeping the ways of the LORD, holding His ordinances in view, and keeping himself from iniquity are what the cleanness of hands means here. Verse 24 adds that all of it stood in His sight.
This site's exposition
cleanness of my hands in His sight
Verse 24 repeats verse 20 and closes the argument. Albert Barnes read according to my righteousness as the LORD repaying David as a righteous man, and in His sight as God seeing him upright. Charles Spurgeon added that God first gives holiness and then rewards it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And the Lord shall reward Me according to My righteousness [Psalm 18:24]. Accordingly not only for the breadth of faith, which works by love; but also for the length of perseverance, will the Lord reward Me according to My righteousness. "And according to the cleanness of My hands in the sight of His eyes." Not as men see, but "in the sight of His eyes." For "the things that are seen are temporal; but the things that are not seen are eternal:" [2 Corinthians 4:18] whereto the height of hope appertains.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"And I shall be." Above the Psalmist commemorated the benefit of deliverance regarding the past; here regarding the future, as to hope. And first he commemorates the benefits in general. Second, in particular those he has received and those he hopes for, at "my God, …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
), that is, determining the controversy between him and his enemies, according to the justice of his cause and the cleanness of his hands, from that sedition, treason, and rebellion, with which he was charged. He had often appealed to God concerning his innocency; and now God had given judgment upon the appeal (as he always will) according to equity.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
God first gives us holiness, and then rewards us for it. We are his workmanship; vessels made unto honour; and when made, the honour is not withheld from the vessel; though, in fact, it all belongs to the Potter upon whose wheel the vessel was fashioned. The prize is awarded to the flower at the show, but the gardener reared it; the child wins the prize from the schoolmaster, but the real honour of his schooling lies with the master, although instead of receiving he gives the reward.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The statements of innocence, righteousness, &c., refer, doubtless, to his personal and official conduct and his purposes, during all the trials to which he was subjected in Saul's persecutions and Absalom's rebellions, as well as the various wars in which he had been engaged as the head and defender of God's Church and people.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me - By delivering me from my enemies. The divine interpositions in his behalf had been of the nature of a reward or recompense. According to my righteousness - As if I were righteous; or, his acts of intervention have been such as are appropriate to a righteous life. The psalmist does not say that it was on account of his righteousness as if he had merited the favor of God, but that the interpositions in his behalf had been such as to show that God regarded him as righteous. According to the cleanness of my hands - See the note at Psa 18:20. In his eyesight - Margin, as in Hebrew, before his eyes. The idea is that God saw that he was upright.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּֽשֶׁב־ | vaiyashev- | and he has repaid | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לִ֣י | li | to me | ||
| כְצִדְקִ֑י | khetzidki | according to righteousness my | H6664 → | 119 times |
| כְּבֹ֥ר | kevor | according to [the] cleanness of | H1252 → | |
| יָ֝דַ֗י | yadai | hands my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| לְנֶ֣גֶד | leneged | to before | H5048 → | 151 times |
| עֵינָֽיו׃ | ʾeinav | eyes his | H5869 → | 887 times |
וַיָּֽשֶׁב־and he has repaid
vaiyashev-H7725 →1056 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לִ֣יto me
li
כְצִדְקִ֑יaccording to righteousness my
khetzidkiH6664 →119 times
כְּבֹ֥רaccording to [the] cleanness of
kevorH1252 →
יָ֝דַ֗יhands my
yadaiH3027 →1618 times
לְנֶ֣גֶדto before
lenegedH5048 →151 times
עֵינָֽיו׃eyes his
ʾeinavH5869 →887 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
Ruth 2:12May the LORD repay your work, and may you receive a rich reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have taken refuge.”
it leads to
- Psalms 36:7
How precious is Your loving devotion, O God, that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings!
- Psalms 91:4
He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
- Psalms 63:7
For You are my help; I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.
- Psalms 17:8
Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
- Psalms 61:4
Let me dwell in Your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah
- Psalms 36:7
Through
Hebrews 6:16Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and their oath serves as a confirmation to end all argument.
it leads to
- Exodus 22:11
an oath before the LORD shall be made between the parties to determine whether or not the man has taken his neighbor’s property. The owner must accept the oath and require no restitution.
- Exodus 22:11
Through
1 Samuel 26:23May the LORD repay every man for his righteousness and faithfulness. For the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the LORD’s anointed.
it leads to
- Psalms 62:12
and loving devotion to You, O Lord. For You will repay each man according to his deeds.
- 1 Samuel 24:6–7
So he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed. May I never lift my hand against him, since he is the…
- Psalms 62:12
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 18; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.