An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: 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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for. By the fear of Yahweh men depart from evil.
- Ps 112:1Praise Yah! Blessed is the man who fears Yahweh, who delights greatly in his commandments.
- Ps 18:1For the Chief Musician. By David the servant of Yahweh, who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said, I love you, Yahweh, my strength.
- Ps 143:12In your loving kindness, cut off my enemies, and destroy all those who afflict my soul, For I am your servant.
- Matt 12:33–34“Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.
- 2 Tim 2:24The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but be gentle towards all, able to teach, patient,
- Eccl 12:13This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.
- Jude 1:1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:
- Matt 7:16–20By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?
- Titus 1:1Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s chosen ones, and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness,
- Ps 90:1A Prayer by Moses, the man of God. Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations.
- Prov 20:11Even a child makes himself known by his doings, whether his work is pure, and whether it is right.
- Deut 34:5So Moses the servant of Yahweh died there in the land of Moab, according to Yahweh’s word.
- Rev 1:1This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John,
- Prov 8:13The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth.
- Titus 1:16They profess that they know God, but by their deeds they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.
- 2 Pet 1:1Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
- Gen 20:11Abraham said, “Because I thought, ‘Surely the fear of God is not in this place. They will kill me for my wife’s sake.’
- Jas 1:1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are in the Dispersion: Greetings.
- 1 Sam 15:13–14Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said to him, “You are blessed by Yahweh! I have performed the commandment of Yahweh.”
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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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