Psalm 101 - Toward an End to Corruption

TEXT (Hebrew text at end)

1. Of David. A psalm.

Kindness and justice I will sing; to You, O LORD, I will chant a hymn.1

2. I would study the way of the innocent—when will it come to me?!

May I walk about in the innocence of my heart within my house.

3. May I set nothing2 base before my eyes. I have hated acting wickedly; may it not cling to me.

4. May a perverse heart depart from me; may I know naught of evil.

5. He who secretly slanders his fellow, may I destroy; the haughty-eyed and greedy3 of heart, may I not abide.

6. My eyes are on the trusty men of the land, to dwell with me. May one who follows the way of the innocent be the one to serve me.

7. May no one who acts deceitfully dwell within my house; may no one who speaks2 lies stay before my eyes.

8. Each morning may I destroy all the wicked of the land, cutting off all wrongdoers from the city of the LORD.

Notes
1. “Chant a hymn” is from the same Hebrew root as “psalm.”

2. “(no)thing” of verse 3 and “speaks” of verse 7 are of a single Hebrew root.

3. Translation according to Radak.

COMMENTARY

Psalm 101 is highly personal. Despite the opening assertion that the statement is directed to God, the poem proceeds as a declaration of personal intent.

Between Hope and Determination (on the Translation)

Most of Psalm 101 is written in the imperfect mode, which spans the present and future tenses. Most translations favor the future tense, reflecting the speaker’s determination. In light of the indications in the first verse that the psalm is directed toward the Lord and in the second verse that the speaker awaits full “arrival” of innocence, I have adopted a tone that is somewhere between hope and determination, a more accurate reflection, I believe, of the speaker’s mindset.

A “Royal” Psalm

For generations (since Gunkel) most commentators have dubbed this a “royal” psalm, though specific implications differ (concerning a king, a coronation poem, an annual royal public statement, and so on). In any case, this connection emerges slowly in the text. There is nothing at the beginning to indicate that these are the words of a king. Only as it becomes clear that the “house” is a large estate, that assistants are sought throughout the land, that many serve the speaker, and that he is mandated to accomplish justice, specifically in the “City of the Lord” (i.e., Jerusalem—see Pss. 46:5; 48:2, 9), does one realize that the speaker is a king. Indeed, the opening verses seem to deal with universally desired qualities, righteousness as anyone might define it. As it becomes clear that the speaker is a king, one is perhaps impressed that he seeks that kind of life. This “royal” psalm does not distance royalty from the people, but rather brings the two closer together.

Three Structures

Three overlapping structures shed light on the psalm’s emphases. First, there is an impatient outburst at the end of verse 2: “When will it (innocence) come to me?” The repetition of “innocence” before and after that phrase indicates the psalm's concentration, followed by a detailed definition.

Second, verses 1–4 deal with the personal traits of the speaker and verses 5–8 with others and his relationship to them. Implied is a clear hierarchy of timing. First the speaker is to get his own “house” in order in the personal implication of the term, and only thereafter is he to do the same in his household and court.

Schaefer notes a third structure. The following terms are repeated in two cycles: “way of the innocent,” “within my house,” “before my eyes,” “act” (these last two appear in reverse order), and “destroy.” This has the effect of isolating the section between the two cycles (vv. 5b and 6) as his central concern: “The haughty-eyed and greedy of heart, may I not abide; my eyes are on the trusty men of the land, to have them at my side.” (See the section below,  “Recalling the King Who Fought Corruption.”)

The Poetry of Repetition

Numbers of repetitions seem to imply more than a mere structural shell. The enclosing term of the psalm is “LORD”: a counterweight to the speaker’s concentration on himself, an appropriate reflection of the determination voiced at the beginning to chant to the Lord and an accurate understanding of the opening “kindness and justice” (as I indicate below). Many of the terms repeated cyclically, as noted above, would seem to indicate that the speaker seeks the same qualities in himself that he is looking for in his companions.. The three repetitions of “heart” (vv. 2, 4, 5) compare the speaker to those whom he rejects, just as “dwell” differentiates the latter from sought-after companions (vv. 6, 7), as does “land” (vv. 6, 8). The basic “thing” which cannot be before his eyes (v. 3) are clarified to be one who “speaks” lies (v. 7, “speak” and “thing” having the same root, d-b-r).

Poetic Pearls

“Kindness and justice” (v. 1) – These paired terms are set parallel to the Lord himself. Indeed, these two terms are used elsewhere as God’s primary demands of man (Hos. 12:7; Mic. 6:8) and are included among the prime required characteristics of kings (Isa. 16:5). Singing of these qualities is indeed a hymn to God!

Although this poem otherwise seems to be about the speaker and his intentions, the first three verbs (“sing... chant... study”“) subtly recall the poem’s opening address to God. All three terms when used as nouns (shir, mizmor, maskil) are among the titles used for psalms.

“Trusted men of the land” (v. 6) reflects a root commonly translated “loyal,” literally, “loyal of the land.” This possibly implies an exceptional choice by the king—advisers who are first and foremost loyal to the country, not personally to him.

A similar striking choice is reflected in the rejection of slanderers (v. 5). Many regents have been known to encourage such activity in their court, to provide the king with information about potential conflicts, intrigues, or uprisings. As Radak points out, here the king seeks to banish such individuals, who transgress one of society’s principal ethical norms.

Recalling the King Who Fought Corruption

As Meltzer points out, much of Psalm 101 is in the negative, the limits on the court. As is well-known, power tends to breed corruption, no less in the public arena than in private. History records the all-too-frequent abuse of such power, and in moving from the personal to the public sphere this speaker-king has appropriately focused on what must happen, if the kingdom is to be as righteous as he himself seeks to be.

Who wrote this psalm? If this was an act of imagination, a later poet looking back to an idealized David, it is a brilliant reflective piece. There is nothing, however, to deny that David might have written it, and if so, it is an incredibly positive portrait of him, making him a worthy symbol of the perfect future. In either case, the ideal of a personally righteous king who leads a determined effort to rid his court and capital of all corruption is a worthy dream to find in early literature dating back at least to Psalm 101. Would that it had become the guidepost of history!

The author of these essays is Rabbi Benjamin Segal, former president of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and author of The Song of Songs: A Woman in Love (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2009). This material is copyright by the author, and may not be reproduced. If you are interested in using the texts for study groups, please be in direct contact with the author, at psalmblog@gmail.com.

HEBREW TEXT

(א) לְדָוִד מִזְמוֹר חֶסֶד וּמִשְׁפָּט אָשִׁירָה לְךָ יְהֹוָה אֲזַמֵּרָה:

(ב) אַשְׂכִּילָה בְּדֶרֶךְ תָּמִים מָתַי תָּבוֹא אֵלָי אֶתְהַלֵּךְ בְּתָם לְבָבִי בְּקֶרֶב בֵּיתִי:

(ג) לֹא אָשִׁית לְנֶגֶד עֵינַי דְּבַר בְּלִיָּעַל עֲשׂה סֵטִים שָׂנֵאתִי לֹא יִדְבַּק בִּי:

(ד) לֵבָב עִקֵּשׁ יָסוּר מִמֶּנִּי רָע לֹא אֵדָע:

(ה) מלושני }מְלָשְׁנִי{ בַסֵּתֶר רֵעֵהוּ אוֹתוֹ אַצְמִית גְּבַהּ עֵינַיִם וּרְחַב לֵבָב אֹתוֹ לֹא אוּכָל:

(ו) עֵינַי בְּנֶאֶמְנֵי אֶרֶץ לָשֶׁבֶת עִמָּדִי הֹלֵךְ בְּדֶרֶךְ תָּמִים הוּא יְשָׁרְתֵנִי:

(ז) לֹא יֵשֵׁב בְּקֶרֶב בֵּיתִי עֹשֵׂה רְמִיָּה דֹּבֵר שְׁקָרִים לֹא יִכּוֹן לְנֶגֶד עֵינָי:

(ח) לַבְּקָרִים אַצְמִית כָּל רִשְׁעֵי אָרֶץ לְהַכְרִית מֵעִיר יְהֹוָה כָּל פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן: