Psalms 36:4

Psalms 36:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.
• English Standard Version (ESV)He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil.
• New King James Version (NKJV)He devises wickedness on his bed; He sets himself in a way that is not good; He does not abhor evil.
• New Living Translation (NLT)They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots. Their actions are never good. They make no attempt to turn from evil.

Context of Psalms 36:4

2In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. 3The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good. Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong. 5Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. 6Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.

Psalms 36:4 word by word

אָ֤וֶן׀ יַחְשֹׁ֗ב עַֽל־מִשְׁכָּ֫ב֥וֹ יִ֭תְיַצֵּב עַל־דֶּ֣רֶךְ לֹא־ט֑וֹב רָ֝֗ע לֹ֣א יִמְאָֽס׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• He devisethחָשַׁבchâshab · to devise: deviseH2803
• mischiefאָ֫וֶן'âven · evil: wickednessH205
• upon his bedמִשְׁכָּבmishkâb · bedH4904
• he settethיָצַבyâtsab · to standH3320
• himself in a wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
• not goodטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
• he abhorrethמָאַסmâ'as · to rejectH3988
• not evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451

Cross-references for Psalms 36:4

• Psalms 38:12Those who want to kill me set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they scheme and lie.
• 1 Samuel 19:11Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be killed.”
• Esther 5:14His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up.
• Esther 6:4The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about impaling Mordecai on the pole he had set up for him.
• Proverbs 4:16For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
• Hosea 7:6Their hearts are like an oven; they approach him with intrigue. Their passion smolders all night; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
• Micah 2:1Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.
• Matthew 27:1Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed.
• Acts 23:12The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
• Proverbs 24:23These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judging is not good:
• Isaiah 65:2All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations—
• Jeremiah 6:16This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
• Jeremiah 8:6I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle.
• Jeremiah 9:2Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people.
• Micah 6:8He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
• Psalms 97:10Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Commentaries on Psalms 36:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4He deviseth mischief upon his bed - He seeks the silent and undisturbed watches of the night, in order to fix his plans of wickedness. He setteth himself - Having laid his plans he fixes his purpose to do what is bad; and he does it without any checks of conscience or abhorrence of evil. He is bent only on mischief, and lost to all sense of God and goodness. A finished character of a perfect sinner.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4He deviseth mischief upon his bed - Margin, as in Hebrew: “vanity.” That is, when he lies down; when he is wakeful at night; he plots some scheme of iniquity - some vain, wicked enterprise. So in Proverbs 4:16, “For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.” He setteth himself - That is, he takes his stand or his position; he assumes this attitude. See Psalm 2:2, “The kings of the earth…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-4Foolish people reject wisdom and goodness while they chase after evil.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-42-4. This reflection detailed. until his iniquity--literally, "for finding his iniquity for hating"; that is, he persuades himself God will not so find it--"for hating" involving the idea of punishing. Hence his words of iniquity and deceit, and his bold rejection of all right principles of conduct. The climax is that he deliberately adopts and patronizes evil. The negative forms affirm more emphatically their contraries.Read the comment

Topics related to Psalms 36:4

• Vanity
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Continue
• Deep
• Preserve
• Pride
• Tell
• Pentateuch
• Psalms, Book of

Commentaries on Psalms 36

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings