Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
Parallel translations
- WEB Good and upright is Yahweh, therefore he will instruct sinners in the way.
- BSB Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way.
- ESV Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
- NKJV Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
- NASB ¶The Lord is good and upright; Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
- NLT The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
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
Because God is good and upright, he instructs sinners in the right way. God's goodness moves him to teach even the wayward.
Overview
David grounds his hope for instruction in God's own character as good and upright, the very reason God condescends to guide sinners back to the right path. Divine goodness expresses itself in patient teaching rather than mere condemnation. This pictures the grace that meets sinners in Christ, who came not to call the righteous but to seek and save the lost.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Jas 1:5If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
- Eph 1:17–18That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
- Ps 32:8I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
- John 6:44–45No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
- Ps 92:15To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
- Matt 9:13But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
- Matt 11:29–30Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
- Isa 26:7The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
- Prov 9:4–6Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
- Prov 1:20–23Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
- Ps 119:68Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes.
- 2 Cor 4:6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
- Prov 2:1–6My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
- Mic 4:2And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
- Luke 11:13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
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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 25:8 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.