With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
Parallel translations
- WEB With the pure, you will show yourself pure. With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.
- BSB to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.
- NKJV With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.
- NASB With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.
- NLT To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
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
God shows himself pure to the pure but shrewd toward the crooked. It matters because God meets the perverse with fitting opposition while blessing the upright.
Overview
Continuing the principle, David says God is pure with the pure but deals shrewdly with the crooked, opposing their schemes. God is never outmaneuvered by the devious; he frustrates their crookedness. This assures the upright that God's perfect justice will deal rightly with all, vindicating the pure in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Prov 3:34Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
- Lev 26:23–24And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
- Jas 2:13For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
- Lev 26:27–28And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
- Ps 109:17–19As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
- Rom 2:4–6Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
- Rom 2:9Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
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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 18:26 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.