In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.
Parallel translations
- WEB in whose hands is wickedness, their right hand is full of bribes.
- BSB in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes.
- NKJV In whose hands is a sinister scheme, And whose right hand is full of bribes.
- NASB In whose hands is a wicked scheme, And whose right hand is full of bribes.
- NLT Their hands are dirty with evil schemes, and they constantly take bribes.
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 are described as those whose hands hold evil schemes and bribes. Their corruption is contrasted with David's integrity.
Overview
David characterizes the wicked he wishes to avoid as men full of evil plots whose hands are laden with bribes, marking their injustice and corruption. The description sharpens the contrast with his own washed hands of innocence. The verse exposes the moral ruin of those who reject God's ways, from which only the cleansing grace of Christ can save.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Exod 23:8And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
- Deut 16:19Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
- Ps 52:2Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
- 1 Sam 8:3And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
- Mic 7:3That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
- Prov 1:16For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
- Acts 23:12And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
- Ps 11:2For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
- Ps 55:9–11Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
- Prov 4:16For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
- Matt 26:3–4Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,
- Amos 5:12For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.
- Ezek 22:12–13In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.
- Ps 36:4He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.
- Ps 10:14Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
- Isa 33:15He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;
- Mic 2:1–3Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.
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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 26:10 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
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