For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the Chief Musician. By David, the servant of Yahweh. An inner sanctuary is within my heart about the disobedience of the wicked: “There is no fear of God before his eyes.”
- KJV The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.
- NKJV An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes.
- NASB Wrongdoing speaks to the ungodly within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes.
- NLT Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all.
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 receives an inner oracle exposing the heart of the wicked: there is no fear of God before their eyes. The root of all sin is irreverence toward God.
Overview
The psalm opens with a striking 'inner sanctuary' insight into wickedness, diagnosing its source as the absence of the fear of God. Paul quotes this verse in Romans 3:18 to summarize humanity's universal sinfulness apart from grace. Thus the verse exposes the heart-condition the gospel must remedy, for only in Christ are sinners given new hearts that fear and love God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Rom 3:18“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
- Prov 16:6By loving devotion and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns aside from evil.
- Ps 112:1Hallelujah! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments.
- Ps 18:1For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love You, O LORD, my strength.
- Ps 143:12And in Your loving devotion, cut off my enemies. Destroy all who afflict me, for I am Your servant.
- Matt 12:33–34Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.
- 2 Tim 2:24And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.
- Eccl 12:13When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
- Jude 1:1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who are called, loved by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ:
- Matt 7:16–20By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
- Titus 1:1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness,
- Ps 90:1A prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, You have been our dwelling place through all generations.
- Prov 20:11Even a young man is known by his actions—whether his conduct is pure and upright.
- Deut 34:5So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, as the LORD had said.
- Rev 1:1This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,
- Prov 8:13To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.
- Titus 1:16They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
- 2 Pet 1:1Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
- Gen 20:11Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’
- Jas 1:1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.
- 1 Sam 15:13–14When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
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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 36:1 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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