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For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire; He blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.
Psalms 10:3 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings. He blesses the greedy, and condemns Yahweh.
  • KJV For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
  • BSB For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
  • ESV For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.
  • NASB ¶For the wicked boasts of his soul’s desire, And the greedy person curses and shows disrespect to the Lord.
  • NLT For they brag about their evil desires; they praise the greedy and curse the Lord.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The wicked boasts of his cravings and blesses the greedy while spurning Yahweh. Sin glories in self and despises God.

Overview

This verse exposes the heart of wickedness: pride in one's desires, approval of the greedy, and contempt for the Lord. The wicked invert true values, praising what God condemns and rejecting God Himself. It diagnoses the root rebellion that the gospel addresses by giving a new heart.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 37

  • Ps 94:4They pour out arrogant words. All the evildoers boast.
  • Luke 12:19I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.”’
  • Zech 11:5–8Their buyers slaughter them, and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be Yahweh, for I am rich;’ and their own shepherds don’t pity them.
  • Mic 6:10–12Are there yet treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and a short ephah that is accursed?
  • Job 31:24“If I have made gold my hope, and have said to the fine gold, ‘You are my confidence;’
  • Prov 28:4Those who forsake the law praise the wicked; but those who keep the law contend with them.
  • Ps 49:6Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches —
  • Ps 5:6You will destroy those who speak lies. Yahweh abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
  • Deut 29:19and it happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, “I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart, to destroy the moist with the dry.”
  • Ps 49:11–13Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after themselves.
  • Isa 37:23Whom have you defied and blasphemed? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel.
  • Ps 35:21Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, “Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!”
  • Exod 15:9The enemy said, ‘I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide the plunder. My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’
  • Eph 5:5Know this for sure, that no sexually immoral person, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.
  • Isa 57:17I was angry because of the iniquity of his covetousness, and struck him; I hid myself and was angry; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.
  • Lev 26:30I will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and cast your dead bodies upon the bodies of your idols; and my soul will abhor you.
  • 1 Sam 23:21Saul said, “You are blessed by Yahweh; for you have had compassion on me.
  • Hab 2:9Woe to him who gets an evil gain for his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the hand of evil!
  • Isa 10:7–11However he doesn’t mean so, neither does his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off not a few nations.
  • Rom 1:32who, knowing the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.
  • Deut 32:19Yahweh saw and abhorred, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.
  • Hos 12:7–8A merchant has dishonest scales in his hand. He loves to defraud.
  • Ps 49:18Though while he lived he blessed his soul — and men praise you when you do well for yourself —
  • Luke 16:14–15The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him.
  • 2 Tim 3:2–4For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
  • 1 Tim 6:9–10But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction.
  • Rom 1:29being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, malice; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil habits, secret slanderers,
  • Matt 26:15–16and said, “What are you willing to give me, that I should deliver him to you?” They weighed out for him thirty pieces of silver.
  • Luke 12:15He said to them, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses.”
  • Col 3:5Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry;
  • Ps 73:8–9They scoff and speak with malice. In arrogance, they threaten oppression.
  • Jas 4:13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.”
  • 1 Cor 6:10nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom.
  • Ps 52:1For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, “David has come to Ahimelech’s house.” Why do you boast of mischief, mighty man? God’s loving kindness endures continually.
  • 1 Jn 2:15Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him.
  • Jer 22:17But your eyes and your heart are not but for your covetousness, and for shedding innocent blood, for oppression, and for doing violence.”
  • Jas 4:16But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 10:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 10:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.