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Psalm 15:3

he who doesn’t slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his friend, nor casts slurs against his fellow man;

1A Psalm by David. LORD, who shall dwell in your sanctuary? Who shall live on your holy hill?
2He who walks blamelessly and does what is right, and speaks truth in his heart;
3he who doesn’t slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his friend, nor casts slurs against his fellow man;
4in whose eyes a vile man is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; he who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and doesn’t change;
5he who doesn’t lend out his money for usury, nor take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be shaken.
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Notice

The tongue appears alongside harm done to a friend, making speech about another person a matter of conduct before the God whose sanctuary David seeks.

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

What would refusing to cast slurs look like in a conversation you expect this week?

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Where do you draw the line between naming real harm and slandering the person involved?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

11 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 20:16“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.Both forbid speech that wrongs a neighbor: false testimony in Exodus and slander in the psalm.
Romans 13:10Love doesn’t harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.The psalm rejects doing evil to a friend; Romans describes love as doing no harm to a neighbor.
Psalm 101:5–8I will silence whoever secretly slanders his neighbor. I won’t tolerate one who is arrogant and conceited.Both psalms reject slander against a neighbor, with Psalm 101 declaring that the slanderer will be silenced.
Matthew 7:12Therefore, whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.Both address conduct toward other people, though Matthew states a positive rule and the psalm names harms to refuse.
James 4:11Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge …Both reject speech against another person, with James addressing brothers and the psalm naming friends and fellow people.
Leviticus 19:16“‘You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people. “‘You shall not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.Both place slander alongside harm to a neighbor, treating speech and conduct as matters under God’s authority.
3 John 1:11Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn’t seen God.Both connect conduct with a person’s relationship to God and reject doing evil.
Jeremiah 9:4–9“Everyone beware of his neighbor, and don’t trust in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go around like a slanderer.Slander against a neighbor appears in both passages: the psalm refuses it, while Jeremiah warns of its spread.
Isaiah 56:2Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast; who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”Both describe a person who refrains from evil, with the psalm specifying harm done to a friend.
1 Peter 2:1–2Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking,Both reject harmful speech alongside evil conduct, making the treatment of others part of an upright life.
Exodus 23:1–33“You shall not spread a false report. Don’t join your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness.Both forbid damaging speech about others, with Exodus naming false reports and malicious testimony.
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Check one message about another person for slurs before sending

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Encouragement

Your words about another person belong within the psalm’s question about life with God. Refusing slander is part of the upright life it describes.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 15:3. 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 15 · 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).