For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God.
Parallel translations
- WEB For I have kept the ways of Yahweh, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
- KJV For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
- NKJV For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God.
- NASB For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not acted wickedly against my God.
- NLT For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not turned from my God to follow evil.
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
David affirms he has kept the ways of the Lord and not turned away in wickedness. It matters because faithful obedience marks the life of one God blesses.
Overview
David explains his vindication by his having kept God's ways and not departed wickedly from him. His covenant loyalty, though imperfect, was real and sincere. The verse upholds the value of faithful obedience, perfectly fulfilled in Christ, whose flawless faithfulness becomes the believer's righteousness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 119:102I have not departed from Your ordinances, for You Yourself have taught me.
- Acts 24:16In this hope, I strive always to maintain a clear conscience before God and man.
- Prov 8:32Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways.
- Ps 17:4As for the deeds of men—by the word of Your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.
- 1 Jn 2:19They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.
- Ps 26:1Of David. Vindicate me, O LORD! For I have walked with integrity; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
- 2 Chr 34:33And Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the Israelites, and he required everyone in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.
- 1 Th 2:10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.
- Ps 119:10–11With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments.
- 1 Sam 15:11“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 18:21 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.