Psalms 26:10
in Psalms 26in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In whose hands is wickedness, And their right hand is full of bribes.
KJV
In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
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This verse in Psalms 26
Commentary
11 notes on this verseIn whose hands is mischief,.... Every abominable wickedness; as idolatry, adultery, murder, &c. the word signifies and is sometimes used for mischief conceived in the mind, artificially devised and contrived there; here mischief committed, the hand being the instrument of action, and intends whatever is prejudicial to the person, character, and properties of men; and their right hand is full of bribes; whereby the eyes of judges are blinded, the words of the righteous perverted, men's persons respected, and judgment wrested, Deu 16:19.
This site's exposition
take my soul away with sinners
on Psalms 26:9-10
David prays that he will not be swept away with sinners and men of bloodshed when God separates the two. Verse 10 names their trade, wicked schemes in the hand and bribes in the right hand. The law had already forbidden the bribe at Exodus 23:8.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"In whose hands is wickedness." Destroy me not then with the ungodly and the men of blood, whose works are wicked. "Their right hand is full of gifts" [Psalm 26:10]. And that which was given them to obtain eternal salvation, they have converted into the receiving this world's gifts, "supposing that godliness is a trade."
The Medieval Church1 voice
"In whose hands are iniquities"; as if to say, I ask this, namely to be separated from them then, because now I am separated in manner of life and conduct, because "iniquities are in their hands," namely, they are very prone to evil: Prov. 1: …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
David describes these sinners, whom he looked upon to be in a miserable condition, so miserable that he could not wish the worst enemy he had in the world to be in a worse. "They are bloody men, that thirst after blood and lie under a great deal of the guilt of blood. They do mischief, and mischief is always in their hands.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
He casts himself upon the mercy and grace of God, with a resolution to hold fast his integrity, and his hope in God,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
In whose hands is mischief. They have both hands full of it, plotting it and carrying it out. And their right hand, with which they are most dexterous, is full of bribes; like thieves who would steal with impunity, they carry a sop for the dogs of justice. He who gives bribes is every way as guilty as the man who takes them, and in the matter of our parliamentary elections the rich villain who give the bribe is by far the worse.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
In whose hands is mischief. They have both hands full of it, plotting it and carrying it out. And their right hand, with which they are most dexterous, is full of bribes; like thieves who would steal with impunity, they carry a sop for the dogs of justice. He who gives bribes is every way as guilty as the man who takes them, and in the matter of our parliamentary elections the rich villain who give the bribe is by far the worse.
In whose hands is mischief. They have both hands full of it, plotting it and carrying it out. And their right hand, with which they are most dexterous, is full of bribes; like thieves who would steal with impunity, they carry a sop for the dogs of justice. He who gives bribes is every way as guilty as the man who takes them, and in the matter of our parliamentary elections the rich villain who give the bribe is by far the worse. Bribery, in any form or shape, should be as detestable to a Christian as carrion to a dove, or garbage to a lamb. Let those whose dirty hands are fond of bribes remember that neither death nor the devil can be bribed to let them escape their well earned doom.
Their right hand is full of bribes - He speaks of persons in office, who took bribes to pervert judgment and justice.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In whose hands is mischief - The word here rendered “mischief,” means properly “purpose, counsel, plan;” then, an evil purpose, “mischief, wickedness, crime.” The idea is, either that they intended to do mischief, and that they employed their hands to accomplish it, or that the fruit or result of their wicked plans was in their hands; that is, they had in their possession what they had secured by robbery, or plunder, or dishonesty. And their right hand is full of bribes - Margin: “filled with.” The word here rendered “bribes” means properly “a gift,” or “present;” and then, a gift offered to a judge to procure an unjust sentence, 2Ki 16:8; Pro 6:35; Exo 23:8; Deu 10:17. The general meaning is that he did not desire to be associated either with men who openly committed crime, or with those who could be corrupted in the administration of justice.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
plots Heb. זמה. Every זמה in Scripture is an expression of a plan, some for good and some for evil.
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
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [those] whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בִּידֵיהֶ֥ם | bideihem | [is] in hands their | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| זִמָּ֑ה | zimah | wickedness | H2154 → | |
| וִֽ֝ימִינָ֗ם | viminam | and right [hand] their | H3225 → | 140 times |
| מָ֣לְאָה | malah | it is full | H4390 → | 249 times |
| שֹּֽׁחַד׃ | shochad | a bribe | H7810 → |
אֲשֶׁר־[those] whom
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בִּידֵיהֶ֥ם[is] in hands their
bideihemH3027 →1618 times
זִמָּ֑הwickedness
zimahH2154 →
וִֽ֝ימִינָ֗םand right [hand] their
viminamH3225 →140 times
מָ֣לְאָהit is full
malahH4390 →249 times
שֹּֽׁחַד׃a bribe
shochadH7810 →
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
Exodus 23:8Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 16:19
Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 17:23
A wicked man takes a covert bribe to subvert the course of justice.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 5:23
who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deprive the innocent of justice.
- Proverbs 15:27
He who is greedy for unjust gain brings trouble on his household, but he who hates bribes will live.
- Deuteronomy 16:19
Through
Micah 7:3Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
it leads to
- Micah 3:11
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster…
- Micah 3:11
Through
Deuteronomy 16:19Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
it leads to
- Leviticus 19:15
You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
- Exodus 23:2
You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.
- Leviticus 19:15
Through
1 Samuel 8:3But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
- 1 Timothy 6:10
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, On the Psalms, Psalm 26; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.