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Psalms 26:1–12, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Psalms 26:1–12
Integrity tested before worship
Integrity asked to be tested, not advertised as perfection
The speaker asks God to judge him, because he has walked in his integrity and trusted the LORD without wavering. Prove me, try my heart and my mind. Your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.
He has not sat with men of falsehood or consorted with hypocrites. He hates the assembly of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked. The claim is accountable self-examination before worship, not sinless perfection, and not a warrant to shame people who confess uncertainty.
Washed hands, circling the altar, an even place
He will wash his hands in innocence and go around the LORD's altar, proclaiming thanksgiving and telling God's wondrous deeds. He loves the habitation of God's house, the place where God's glory dwells.
Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, or my life with bloodthirsty men, in whose hands are evil devices and whose right hands are full of bribes. As for him, he will walk in integrity; redeem him and be gracious. His foot stands on level ground; in the great assembly he will bless the LORD. Nearness to the altar is joined to refused bribes, not to a performance of purity.
How this should shape us
Invite God to test the life you actually walk, especially before you worship. Love the house without using it to advertise innocence. Keep your feet off the bribe and off the scorn of honest confessors.
Teach it back
Explain Psalms 26:1–12 in your own words. Name the poetic voice and movement, trace its place in Psalm 26 and Book I, identify one exact source control or uncertainty, and reject one use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Psalms 26:1–12, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 26:1–12
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 26:1–12.
Official NET Bible Psalm 26 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 26:1–12
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: individual and communal lament, from lament to praise, and Bible in the World; applied to Psalms 26:1–12
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 26 for Psalms 26:1–12
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 26:1–12, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 26:1–12
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 26:1–12.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 26 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 26:1–12
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Introductory Issues: individual and communal lament, from lament to praise, and Bible in the World; applied to Psalms 26:1–12
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 26 for Psalms 26:1–12
Open NETS Psalms ↗