Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 101:5
Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I cut off: him that hath a high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
5. him will I cut off ] Or, destroy, as in Psa 101:8 a, as in himself evil and moreover an evil counsellor for a king.
a high look ] The visible token of a haughty heart within (Psa 18:27; Pro 21:4).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
5 8. He will not tolerate falsehood and pride and injustice around him, but will seek to fill his court with faithful ministers.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour – literally, One who speaks concerning his neighbor in secret. If a man has any good to say of another, he will be likely to say it openly; if he has any evil to say, it will be likely to be said in secret. Hence, to speak in secret of anyone comes to mean the same thing as to slander him.
Him will I cut off – That is, I will cut him off from me; I will not employ him. He would not have one in his house, or in his service, who did injustice to the character of others; who stabbed their reputation in the dark. This was alike indicative of the personal character of the author of the psalm, and of his purpose as the head of a family. It is hardly necessary to say that no one should employ another who is in the habit of slandering his neighbor.
Him that hath an high look – That is proud – as a proud man commonly carries his head high.
And a proud heart – The Hebrew word here rendered proud commonly means wide, broad, large, as of the sea, or of an extended country, Job 11:9; Exo 3:8. It is applied also to the law of God as comprehensive, and without limit, Psa 119:96. Then it comes to mean swelled up – made large – inflated Pro 28:25; and hence, proud and arrogant.
Will not I suffer – I will not tolerate such a person near me. No one can have peace in his house who has such a class of servants or domestics; no one should countenance such persons. Humility is the very foundation of all virtue.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 101:5
Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour.
Sins of the tongue
Mr. Spurgeon used to say that if all mens sins were divided into two bundles, halt of them would be sins of the tongue. And if any one thinks that is a preachers exaggeration, let him read what is written in the Book of Proverbs and the Psalms on the matter, and he will find that the preacher has good authority for his strong words. The sins of the tongue, who can number them? The mischief of the tale-bearer, who can measure it? When St. Paul commands aged women that they be not slanderers, the word he uses means, literally, devils; it is the word which has given us our adjective diabolical; and verily there is no temper that is so wholly un-Christian and anti-Christian, that so well deserves the ugly name of devilish, as the temper of the slanderer and the back-biter. The Apostle James is, if possible, more emphatic still: If any man thinketh himself to be religious, he says, while he bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his heart, this mans religion is vain. But on the other hand, If any stumbleth not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. It is said that St. Augustine had engraved upon his table these words: There is no place at this table for any one who loves scandal. Shall not we make a like resolve, speak no slander–no, nor listen to it? For, if for every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account in the day of judgment, where shall the slanderer and the back-biter appear? (George Jackson, M.A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour] All flatterers and time-servers, and those who by insinuations and false accusations endeavour to supplant the upright, that they may obtain their offices for themselves or their dependants, will I consider as enemies to the state, I will abominate, and expel them from my court.
The Chaldee gives a remarkable meaning to the Hebrew, melasheni bassether reehu, which we translate, Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, and which it renders thus, demishtaey lishan telitai al chabreyah: “He who speaks with the triple tongue against his neighbour.” That is, the tongue by which he slays three persons, viz.,
1. The man whom he slanders;
2. Him to whom he communicates the slander; and,
3. Himself, the slanderer.
Every slanderer has his triple tongue, and by every slander inflicts those three deadly wounds. Such a person deserves to be cut off. On this subject St. Jerome speaks nearly in the same way: Ille qui detrahit, et se, et illum qui audit, demergit; “He who slanders ruins both himself and him who hears him;” he might have added, and him who is slandered, for this is often the case; the innocent are ruined by detraction.
A high look and a proud heart] One who is seeking preferment; who sticks at nothing to gain it; and one who behaves himself haughtily and insolently in his office.
Will not I suffer.] lo uchal, I cannot away with. These persons especially will I drive from my presence, and from all state employments.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour; such as by secret and false informations and accusations of others seek to gain my favour, and to advance themselves by the ruin of others; which are the common pests of courts and kingdoms.
An high look and a proud heart: these he mentions, because pride is the common plague of courts, and the fountain of many enormities in courtiers; it makes them imperious and insolent towards the poor oppressed subjects that resort to them for relief; it inclines them to those counsels and courses, not which are best for the public good, but which are most for their own honour and advantage; it makes them oppressive and injurious to others, that they may have wherewith to satisfy their own lusts.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5, 6. The slanderers and haughtypersons, so mischievous in society, I will disown; but
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off,…. That raises and spreads a false report of him; that insinuates evil things of him; that brings false charges and accusations against him, in a private manner, when he has no opportunity to defend himself: such an one David threatens to cut off from his presence, as Kimchi interprets it; from all communion and conversation with him; and yet he listened to the slanders of Ziba against Mephibosheth: but Christ, who knows the hearts and the secret actions of men, will reject and cut off all persons of such a character: the Targum is,
“he that speaketh with a triple tongue against his neighbour, him will I destroy, and he shall be smitten with the leprosy:”
a slandering tongue is called a triple tongue with the Jews m, because, as they say, it kills three persons; him that carries the slander, him that receives it, and him of whom it is related; see the Apocrypha:
“Whoso hearkeneth unto it shall never find rest, and never dwell quietly.” (Sirach 28:16)
him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer; or, “I cannot” n; that is, cannot bear him in my presence and company; cannot look upon him with any pleasure and delight: the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and the Oriental versions, render it, “with him I will not eat”: have no familiarity or acquaintance with him; see 1Co 5:11, such who looked above others, and with contempt upon them, whose hearts were large, as the word o signifies, were ambitious and insatiable, and never had enough of riches and honour; such were very contrary to David’s character, and could never be agreeable to him, Ps 121:1, as the proud and haughty Pharisees were not to Christ, Lu 18:9, and the man of sin that exalts himself above all that is called God, that little horn, whose look is more stout than his fellows, 2Th 2:4.
m T. Bab. Erahin, fol. 15. 2. Vide Targum Jon. in Deut. 27. 4. n “non potero”, Pagninus, Montanus, Gejerus; “ferre”, Musculus, Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Michaelis. o “vastum corde”, Montanus “latum corde”, Vatablus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
5 Whoso slandereth his neighbor (130) in secret, him will I destroy. In this verse he speaks more distinctly of the duty of a king who is armed with the sword, for the purpose of restraining evil-doers. Detraction, pride, and vices of every description, are justly offensive to all good men; but all men have not the power or right to cut off the proud or detractors, because they are not invested with public authority, and consequently have their hands bound. It is of importance to attend to this distinction, that the children of God may keep themselves within the bounds of moderation, and that none may pass beyond the province of his own calling. It is certain, that so long as David lived merely in the rank of a private member of society, he never dared to attempt any such thing. But after being placed on the royal throne, he received a sword from the hand of God, which he employed in punishing evil deeds. He particularises certain kinds of wickedness, that under one species, by the figure synecdoche, he might intimate his determination to punish all sorts of wickedness. To detract from the reputation of another privily, and by stealth, is a plague exceedingly destructive. It is as if a man killed a fellow-creature from a place of ambush; or rather a calumniator, like one who administers poison to his unsuspecting victim, destroys men unawares. It is a sign of a perverse and treacherous disposition to wound the good name of another, when he has no opportunity of defending himself. This vice, which is too prevalent every where, while yet it ought not to be tolerated among men, David undertakes to punish.
He next characterises the proud by two forms of expression. He describes them as those whose eyes are lofty, not that all who are proud look with a lofty countenance, but because they commonly betray the superciliousness of their proud hearts by the loftiness of their countenance. He farther describes them as wide (131) of heart, because those who aspire after great things must necessarily be puffed up and swollen. They are never satisfied unless they swallow up the whole world. From this we learn that good order cannot exist, unless princes are sedulously on the watch to repress pride, which necessarily draws after it and engenders outrage and cruelty, contemptuous language, rapine, and all kinds of ill treatment. Thus it would come to pass, that the simple and the peaceable would be at the mercy of the more powerful, did not the authority of princes interfere to curb the audacity of the latter. As it is the will of God that good and faithful kings should hold pride in detestation, this vice is unquestionably the object of his own hatred. What he therefore requires from his children is gentleness and meekness, for he is the declared enemy of all who strive to elevate themselves above their condition.
(130) The reading of the Chaldee is striking, “He who speaks with a triple tongue, ” “ i e. ,” says Bythner, “ an informer, calumniator, detractor, who injures three souls, his own, his hearers, and the calumniated; he inflicts a deep wound on his own conscience, puts a lie into the mouth of his hearer, and injures the subject of his slander; according to which, Herodotus has said, Διαβολή ἐστι δεινότατον ἐν τὣ δύο μέν εἰσιν οἱ ἀδικέοντες εἷς δε ὁ ἀδικεόμενος. ‘Calumny is most iniquitous, in which there are two injuring and one injured.’” The word מלושני, meloshni rendered slandereth, is from the noun לשון, lashon, the tongue In Psa 140:12, it is said, “Let not איש לשון, ish lashon, a man of tongue, ( i e. , a slanderer,) be established in the earth.”
(131) The Hebrew noun רחב, rechab, for wide or large, is derived from רחב, rachab, dilatus est “Applied to the heart or soul, it denotes largeness of desires. — So Pro 28:25, ‘He that is רחב נפש, large in soul;’ where the LXX. fitly render רחב, by ἄπληστος, ‘insatiable,’ applying it either to wealth or honor, the insatiable desire of either of which (as there follows) ‘stirs up strife.’ And so here they have rendered it again ἄπλήστῳ καρδίᾳ, ‘he that cannot be filled in the heart,’ i e. , the covetous or ambitious man. The Syriac reads, wide or broad; so the Jewish Arab, ‘Him that is high of eyes, and wide of heart, I can have no patience with those two.’” — Hammond
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) Whoso . . .The informer and the haughty favourite are no unknown characters in an Oriental court.
Proud heart.Literally, broad, that is, extended with pride. (Comp. Pro. 21:4.) But LXX. and Vulg., insatiable.
Will not I suffer.In Hebrew a simple and expressive I cannot, to which we can supply bear, from Jer. 44:22. (Comp. Isa. 1:13 : I cannot away with.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Whose privily slandereth his neighbour The most dangerous and the most detestable of practices, not unusual in kingly courts, especially in oriental lands. David had suffered more from this element in Saul’s court than from any other cause, and execrated it often, as in Psalms 120. See Pro 30:10.
Him will I cut off He speaks as a king holding the sword of justice. The protection of society required it. Secret slander in official counsel is a dangerous form of bearing false witness; and where it maliciously involves the life of the innocent should be punished, like all conspiracy against life, with the same forfeiture. Such justice was recognised among the heathen. Compare the case of Haman in Est 7:10, and of Daniel in Dan 6:24.
High look and a proud heart Literally, lofty of eyes and broad of heart. Haughtiness and the inflation of vanity and self-conceit seem to be the qualities here condemned.
Will not I suffer I am not able to endure.
Psa 101:5. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour Those who are advanced to places of eminent dignity, trust, and profit, are the objects of hatred and envy; frequently traduced and slandered; and the worst kinds of suspicions are insinuated concerning them into the minds of those princes who employ them, in order to supplant and ruin them. It is the part of a good and prudent prince, utterly to discountenance such false and treacherous informers; and none but the worst have favoured and protected them. We learn from Tacitus, that under Tiberius they were encouraged; while Titus scourged them, sold many of them for slaves, and banished others. See Tac. Annal. lib. 4: cap. 30. Suet. Tit. cap. 8: The original words of the next clause, literally rendered, run thus, High in eyes, and broad in heart. Haughtiness and pride discover themselves in the elevation or tossing of the nose (Psa 10:4.) and by the disdainful turning of the eye; scorning as it were to look down upon the object, as unworthy of regard; which is also expressed Pro 21:4. By the height of the eyes is shewn the character of him who, because of his superior riches and power, scorns to take notice of one whom he thinks beneath him. To this answers the wide or broad in heart; one whose heart dilates and swells itself with pride, on account of the largeness of his fortune, or the eminence of his station. It should be remarked however, that as the heart may be dilated with other things besides pride, so the phrase is used in a good sense, to denote the enlargement of the heart or mind with pleasure; Isa 60:5 or with wisdom; 1Ki 4:29 and with other things of the like nature. Chandler.
Psa 101:5 Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
Ver. 5. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour ] Heb. Him that in secret tongue smiteth his fellow friend, will I suppress. This David purposed to do, but this he did not so thoroughly in the case of poor Mephibosheth, belied by false Ziba; his resolution was maledicos et maleficos a se depellere, to drive away from him sycophants, backbiters, flatterers; but there is a great sympathy between princes and such pests, those harpies and gaping crows of courts, as one calleth them. ( Sorices et tineas palatii appellabat Constant. Mag.). David promiseth fair to purge and eliminate from his house and court of such, and to cut them off, secundum leges regni, according to the laws of the kingdom, as Aben Ezra glosseth.
Him that hath an high look
And a proud heart
I will not suffer cut off = destroy. See Psa 101:8.
proud heart = broad of heart: i.e. large and blatant. Compare Pro 21:4; Pro 21:28, Pro 21:25.
Psa 101:5-8
Psa 101:5-8
GUIDELINES FOR ADMINISTERING THE GOVERNMENT
“Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I destroy:
Him that hath a high look and a proud heart will I not suffer.
Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me:
He that walketh in a perfect way, he shall minister unto me.
He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: He that speaketh falsehood shall not be established before mine eyes.
Morning by morning will I destroy all the wicked of the land;
To cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of Jehovah.”
No king ever entered upon his reign with any better intentions than those which were evidently of David when he penned this psalm. It should also be noted that, “In the earlier years of David’s reign, his life is well known to have been irreproachable; during that period, he practiced what he preached.
“Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor” (Psa 101:5). “This may refer to a person hailed into court because he had falsely accused his neighbor.
“A high look and a proud heart” (Psa 101:5). In Pro 6:18 ff, Solomon is reputed to have listed the seven things God hates; and it is “the proud look” that leads the whole shameful list. From this, it is not too much to say that, at least some of the famed wisdom of Solomon was derived from his father David.
“Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful … he that walketh in a perfect way” (Psa 101:6). The meaning here is that only the faithful, only the persons who are doing right, only the honorable and the truthful, “Shall be promoted to office under my government. Scheming, underhanded scoundrels shall be excluded from public office; and only men of known honor and integrity shall have responsible places in the king’s court.
“He that worketh deceit … he that speaketh falsehood” (Psa 101:7). This passage states negatively what is affirmed in the preceding verse.
“Morning by morning” (Psa 101:8). The meaning of this is “continually,” “constantly,” “all the time,” “every day.” “The king here promises that he will be no dilatory judge whose citizens despair of a hearing.
Apparently, in the latter days of David’s kingship he failed to keep this resolution. This enabled Absalom to steal away the hearts of the people. 2Sa 15:1-6 tells how Absalom met people every day on the way to see the king; he would interrupt them, declaring that no court was in session, openly expressing the allegation (which might or might not have been true) that the king had not deputed anyone to hear the plaintiff’s case, also exclaiming, “Oh that I were made judge in the land.” It was by such devices as these that Absalom was able to steal the hearts of the men of Israel.
Regardless of the truth or falsity of Absalom’s allegations, there must have been some slackening of the king’s diligence that allowed such a situation to develop.
“To cut off the workers of iniquity from the city of Jehovah” (Psa 101:8). It was a noble purpose indeed to strive for a clean city, where crime and wickedness would be suppressed, and where righteousness and truth would be honored. Human nature being what it is, we must allow that David’s hopes along this line were never completely achieved. Nevertheless, he did a far better job as king than the vast majority of the Davidic dynasty that followed him, whose lives, in the aggregate, appear to have been no better than that of other Oriental despots of that historical era.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 101:5. Slander is always wrong, but it is worse when done privily, which means to do done “behind one’s back.” If any such man came under the knowledge of David he was to be cut off. There is not much difference between the meaning of high and proud. The second refers to the condition of the heart, and the first shows how that condition affects the outward attitude. David gave his word that he would not tolerate such a man to be in his presence.
Psa 101:6. To be upon means to look with favor upon the faithful, and see that they have opportunity for dwelling in the land under the protection of the king. But the Psalmist would not accept service from those whose way of life was not right.
Psa 101:7. Deceit is one form of a lie and David would not harbor such a character. With all of the fault to be found with the Psalmist for his sin with another man’s wife, he was truthful when confronted with the facts. He was a lover of truth and could not endure the sight of an untruthful man.
Psa 101:8. Early has no word in the original in this verse. Destroy is from a word that is defined by Strong, “to extirpate.” The city of the Lord means the capital city and David proposed to defend it by destroying all of the wicked enemies.
Whoso: Psa 15:3, Psa 50:20, Exo 20:16, Exo 23:1, Lev 19:16, Pro 10:18, Pro 20:19, Pro 25:23, Eze 22:9, 1Co 5:11, 1Ti 3:11, Tit 2:3
an high: Psa 10:2-4, Psa 18:27, Psa 138:6, 1Sa 2:3, Job 40:11, Job 40:12, Pro 6:16-19, Pro 30:13, Isa 2:11, Dan 4:37, Oba 1:3, Oba 1:4, Luk 18:14, 1Pe 5:5, 1Pe 5:6
Reciprocal: Lev 14:40 – take away 1Sa 24:9 – General 2Sa 16:3 – day 2Sa 19:27 – slandered 2Sa 19:29 – Thou Psa 10:4 – the pride Psa 31:13 – I have Pro 6:17 – A proud look Pro 16:13 – General Pro 20:26 – wise Pro 22:10 – General Pro 29:12 – General Eph 4:31 – evil speaking
Psa 101:5-6. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour Such as by secret and false informations, and accusations of others, seek to gain my favour, and to advance themselves by the ruin of others; him will I cut off From my family and court. Him that hath a high look, &c. Those who think highly of themselves, and look down with contempt upon others, or treat them with insolence; or, whose insatiable covetousness and ambition make them study their own advancement more than the public good; will not I suffer In my house nor among my servants. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful I will endeavour to find out, and will favour and encourage, men of truth, justice, and integrity, men of religion and virtue, who will be faithful, first to God, and then to me and to my people; that they may dwell with me Hebrew, , lashebeth,, to sit, abide, or converse with me, in my house, and counsels, and public administrations. These he would use as his familiars and friends, employ them in the domestic services of his palace, and advance them to public offices and stations in his kingdom. He that walketh in a perfect way In the way of Gods precepts, which are pure and perfect; he shall serve me In domestic and public employments.
101:5 Whoso privily {d} slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
(d) In promising to punish these vices, which are most pernicious in them that are about Kings, he declares that he will punish all.
In Psa 101:5, David promised to deal severely with even minor deviations from holiness in others’ lives. This expressed his strong allegiance to righteousness. Positively the king promised to reward people who were faithful to God. He wanted to surround himself with godly people in his court.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)