The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
Parallel translations
- WEB Good and upright is Yahweh, therefore he will instruct sinners in the way.
- KJV Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach 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.
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 1:5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him.
- Eph 1:17–18that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;
- Ps 32:8I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go. I will counsel you with my eye on you.
- John 6:44–45No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.
- Ps 92:15to show that Yahweh is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
- Matt 9:13But you go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
- Matt 11:29–30Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls.
- Isa 26:7The way of the just is uprightness. You who are upright make the path of the righteous level.
- Prov 9:4–6“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” As for him who is void of understanding, she says to him,
- Prov 1:20–23Wisdom calls aloud in the street. She utters her voice in the public squares.
- Ps 119:68You are good, and do good. Teach me your statutes.
- 2 Cor 4:6seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone 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 you will receive my words, and store up my commandments within you;
- Mic 4:2Many nations will go and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, 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 will go out of Zion, and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem;
- Luke 11:13If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who 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.