If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
Parallel translations
- WEB If I cherished sin in my heart, the Lord wouldn’t have listened.
- KJV If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
- NKJV If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.
- NASB If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear;
- NLT If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
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
If he had cherished sin in his heart, the Lord would not have listened. It warns that clinging to sin hinders prayer.
Overview
The psalmist states that had he harbored and loved sin, the Lord would not have heard his prayer. Unrepented, cherished sin is a barrier to fellowship with God. This underscores our need for the cleansing found in Christ, through whom we draw near with a sincere heart.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- John 9:31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will.
- Prov 28:9Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable.
- Prov 15:29The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.
- Prov 15:8The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Isa 1:15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
- Jas 4:3And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
- Job 27:8–9For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
- Prov 21:13Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.
- Job 36:21Be careful not to turn to iniquity, for this you have preferred to affliction.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 66:18 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.