Christian Standard Bible
Psalms 18:21
21For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not turned from my God to wickedness.
Psalms 18:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
- New International Version (NIV)For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I am not guilty of turning from my God.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God.
Context of Psalms 18:21
19He brought me out to a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. 20The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; he repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands. For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not turned from my God to wickedness. 22Indeed, I let all his ordinances guide me and have not disregarded his statutes. 23I was blameless toward him and kept myself from my iniquity.
Read all of Psalms 18Psalms 18:21 word by word
כִּֽי־שָׁ֭מַרְתִּי דַּרְכֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה וְלֹֽא־רָ֝שַׁ֗עְתִּי מֵאֱלֹהָֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 18:21
- Psalms 17:4Concerning what people do: by the words from your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.
- Psalms 26:1Vindicate me, Lord, because I have lived with integrity and have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
- Psalms 119:10I have sought you with all my heart; don’t let me wander from your commands.
- Acts 24:16I always strive to have a clear conscience toward God and men.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how devoutly, righteously, and blamelessly we conducted ourselves with you believers.
- Psalms 119:102I have not turned from your judgments, for you yourself have instructed me.
- 1 Samuel 15:11“I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from following me and has not carried out my instructions.” So Samuel became angry and cried out to the Lord all night.
- 1 John 2:19They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.
Commentaries on Psalms 18:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21I have kept the ways of the Lord - I was neither an infidel nor a profligate; I trusted in God, and carefully observed all the ordinances of his religion.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21For I have kept the ways of the Lord - I have obeyed his laws. I have not so violated the laws which God has given to regulate my conduct with my fellow-men as to deserve to be treated by them as a guilty man. And have not wickedly departed from my God - “I have not been a sinner from my God;” an apostate; an open violator of his law. The treatment which I have received, though it would be justly rendered to an open violator of law, is not that which I…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-28Verses 20-28 Those that forsake the ways of the Lord, depart from their God. But though conscious to ourselves of many a false step, let there not be a wicked departure from our God. David kept his eye upon the rule of God's commands. Constant care to keep from that sin, whatever it be, which most easily besets us, proves that we are upright before God. Those who show mercy to others, even they need mercy. Those who are faithful to God, shall find him all…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21kept the ways of the LORD: The psalmist follows God's instructions faithfully (see Psalm 25:8–10). have not wickedly departed: The psalmist avoids foolishness (see Psalms 1 and 14) and chooses wisdom (see Psalms 1 and 15).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-2420-24. The statements of innocence, righteousness, &c., refer, doubtless, to his personal and official conduct and his purposes, during all the trials to which he was subjected in Saul's persecutions and Absalom's rebellions, as well as the various wars in which he had been engaged as the head and defender of God's Church and people.Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries