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Psalm 26:6

I will wash my hands in innocence, so I will go about your altar, LORD,

6I will wash my hands in innocence, so I will go about your altar, LORD,
7that I may make the voice of thanksgiving to be heard and tell of all your wondrous deeds.
8LORD, I love the habitation of your house, the place where your glory dwells.
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Psalm 26:7 →
Notice

Washed hands and YHWH’s altar link the desire to worship with the desire to come before him free of deceit.

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

What does washing hands “in innocence” suggest about the conduct you bring into worship?

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Where, if anywhere, do you see tension between avoiding deceit and joining in thanksgiving?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

10 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
Psalm 24:4He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully.Both passages connect clean hands with innocence, with Psalm 24 naming freedom from falsehood and deceit.
James 4:8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded.Both passages join cleansing hands with approaching God, though James addresses sinners with a command to purify their hearts.
Psalm 73:13Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence,Both speak of washing hands in innocence, though Psalm 73 questions whether that integrity has been in vain.
Isaiah 1:16Wash yourselves. Make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil.Both use washing to speak about moral conduct before God; Isaiah makes the demand to cease evil explicit.
Matthew 27:24So when Pilate saw that nothing was being gained, but rather that a disturbance was starting, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, …Both connect washing hands with a claim of innocence; Matthew records Pilate making that claim before the multitude.
Psalm 27:4One thing I have asked of the LORD, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the LORD’s house all the days of my life, to see the LORD’s beauty, and to …Both express a desire to approach the LORD in worship, naming his altar in Psalm 26 and his house in Psalm 27.
Psalm 134:2Lift up your hands in the sanctuary. Praise the LORD!Both bring hands into the setting of worship: washed hands at the LORD’s altar and lifted hands in the sanctuary.
Daniel 6:22My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me, because innocence was found in me before him; and also before you, O …Both speak of innocence before God; Daniel also declares that he has done the king no harm.
Exodus 30:19Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in it.Both name washing hands; Exodus commands Aaron and his sons to wash, while the psalm connects washing with innocence.
Job 17:9Yet the righteous will hold to his way. He who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.Both use clean hands to describe integrity, with Job connecting them to the righteous person’s continued strength.
Where this verse fits

Praise and worship. sermon or Bible study notes.

What the Bible says about worship →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Read Psalm 26:4–8 before your next church service

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Encouragement

David’s resolve to approach YHWH’s altar joins integrity with thanksgiving. Honesty in daily life belongs with the praise offered in God’s house.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 26:6. 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 26 · 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).