Psalm 36

¹ A revelation is within my heart about the disobedience of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes.

² For he flatters himself in his own eyes, too much to detect and hate his sin.

³ The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good.

⁴ He plots iniquity on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He doesn’t abhor evil.

⁵ Your loving kindness, LORD, is in the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

⁶ Your righteousness is like the mountains of God. Your judgments are like a great deep. LORD, you preserve man and animal.

⁷ How precious is your loving kindness, God! The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings.

⁸ They shall be abundantly satisfied with the abundance of your house. You will make them drink of the river of your pleasures.

⁹ For with you is the spring of life. In your light we will see light.

¹⁰ Oh continue your loving kindness to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.

¹¹ Don’t let the foot of pride come against me. Don’t let the hand of the wicked drive me away.

¹² There the workers of iniquity are fallen. They are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise.

Around Psalm 36

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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