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.
• New International Version (NIV)Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong.
• 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 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

2For he flatters himself in his own eyes, When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates. 3The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; He has ceased to be wise and to do good. He devises wickedness on his bed; He sets himself in a way that is not good; He does not abhor evil. 5Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 6Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast.

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 also who seek my life lay snares for me; Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, And plan deception all the day long.
• 1 Samuel 19:11Saul also sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.”
• Esther 5:14Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows be made, fifty cubits high, and in the morning suggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged on it; then go merrily with the king to the banquet.” And the thing pleased Haman; so he had the gallows made.
• Esther 6:4So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.
• Proverbs 4:16For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.
• Hosea 7:6They prepare their heart like an oven, While they lie in wait; Their baker sleeps all night; In the morning it burns like a flaming fire.
• Micah 2:1Woe to those who devise iniquity, And work out evil on their beds! At morning light they practice it, Because it is in the power of their hand.
• Matthew 27:1When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death.
• Acts 23:12And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
• Proverbs 24:23These things also belong to the wise: It is not good to show partiality in judgment.
• Isaiah 65:2I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts;
• Jeremiah 6:16Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
• Jeremiah 8:6I listened and heard, But they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness, Saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, As the horse rushes into the battle.
• Jeremiah 9:2Oh, that I had in the wilderness A lodging place for travelers; That I might leave my people, And go from them! For they are all adulterers, An assembly of treacherous men.
• Micah 6:8He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
• Psalms 97:10You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of 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