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Psalm 101:5

I will silence whoever secretly slanders his neighbor. I won’t tolerate one who is arrogant and conceited.

3I will set no vile thing before my eyes. I hate the deeds of faithless men. They will not cling to me.
4A perverse heart will be far from me. I will have nothing to do with evil.
5I will silence whoever secretly slanders his neighbor. I won’t tolerate one who is arrogant and conceited.
6My eyes will be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He who walks in a perfect way, he will serve me.
7He who practices deceit won’t dwell within my house. He who speaks falsehood won’t be established before my eyes.
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Notice

Secret slander meets a severe royal vow here: the king will silence those who attack a neighbor’s name and refuse a place to the arrogant.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What difference does the word “secretly” make to how you understand the harm of slander?

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Where do you have room to protect a neighbor’s reputation without adopting the king’s role?

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How does David’s refusal to tolerate conceit challenge what you admire in people?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Exodus 23:1“You shall not spread a false report. Don’t join your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness.Both texts reject speech that harms another through falsehood, whether secret slander or a malicious witness’s report.
Proverbs 6:17arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,Arrogance and harmful speech appear together in both texts: conceit and slander in the psalm, arrogant eyes and a lying tongue in Proverbs.
Psalm 131:1A Song of Ascents. By David. LORD, my heart isn’t arrogant, nor my eyes lofty; nor do I concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me.Psalm 101 refuses arrogance among companions, while Psalm 131 describes a heart and eyes free from arrogance.
Psalm 18:27For you will save the afflicted people, but the arrogant eyes you will bring down.Both psalms oppose arrogance: David refuses to tolerate it, and Psalm 18 says God will bring arrogant eyes down.
Psalm 15:3he who doesn’t slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his friend, nor casts slurs against his fellow man;Both texts name slander against a neighbor as conduct to reject.
Ephesians 4:31Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander be put away from you, with all malice.Both texts refuse to make room for slander, with Ephesians including it among the practices to put away.
1 Corinthians 5:11But as it is, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a …Both passages set boundaries around association with slanderers, though one concerns royal rule and the other someone called a brother.
Luke 18:14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will …Both texts oppose self-exaltation: David refuses the conceited, and Jesus says those who exalt themselves will be humbled.
Obadiah 1:3–4The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who will bring me down to …Both texts confront pride: David refuses the conceited, while Obadiah exposes the deception of a proud heart.
Proverbs 6:16–19There are six things which the LORD hates; yes, seven which are an abomination to him:Both texts express firm rejection of wrongdoing, though the supplied Proverbs verse does not yet name the offenses.
Titus 2:3and that older women likewise be reverent in behavior, not slanderers nor enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good,Both texts reject slander, with Titus naming freedom from it as part of reverent behavior for older women.
Psalm 50:20You sit and speak against your brother. You slander your own mother’s son.Both psalms condemn slander against someone close: a neighbor in Psalm 101 and a brother in Psalm 50.
Where this verse fits

Leadership weight. work conflict. injustice and anger.

What the Bible says about anger →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Review one recent conversation for slander or conceit

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Encouragement

David’s royal vow is no license for personal retaliation. Its severity shows how little room he gives slander and conceit among those he trusts.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 101:5. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 101 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).