Psalms 101:3-5

101:3 I will not even consider doing what is dishonest. ¹ 

I hate doing evil; ² 

I will have no part of it. ³ 

101:4 I will have nothing to do with a perverse person; ⁴ 

I will not permit ⁵  evil.

101:5 I will destroy anyone who slanders his neighbor in secret.

I will not tolerate anyone who has a cocky demeanor and an arrogant attitude. ⁶ 

[101:3]  ¹ tn Heb “I will not set before my eyes a thing of worthlessness.”

[101:3]  ² tn Heb “the doing of swerving [deeds] I hate.” The Hebrew term סֵטִים (setim) is probably an alternate spelling of שֵׂטִים (setim), which appears in many medieval Hebrew mss. The form appears to be derived from a verbal root שׂוּט (sut, “to fall away; to swerve”; see Ps 40:4).

[101:3]  ³ tn Heb “it [i.e., the doing of evil deeds] does not cling to me.”

[101:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “a perverse heart will turn aside from me.” The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (’iqqesh) has the basic nuance “twisted; crooked” and by extension refers to someone or something that is morally perverse (see Ps 18:26). It appears frequently in the Book of Proverbs, where it is used of evil people (22:5), speech (8:8; 19:1), thoughts (11:20; 17:20), and life styles (2:15; 28:6).

[101:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “know.” The king will not willingly allow perverse individuals to remain in his royal court.

[101:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “[one who has] pride of eyes and wideness [i.e., arrogance] of heart, him I will not endure.”