26:6 I maintain a pure lifestyle, 1
so I can appear before your altar, 2 O Lord,
By David.
26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have integrity, 4
and I trust in the Lord without wavering.
2:8 Ask me,
and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, 5
the ends of the earth as your personal property.
1 tn Heb “I wash my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The imperfect verbal emphasizes that this is his habit.
2 tn Heb “so I can go around your altar” (probably in ritual procession). Following the imperfect of the preceding line, the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.
3 sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.
4 tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”
5 sn I will give you the nations. The