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Psalm 26:9
Don’t gather my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men
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.
9Don’t gather my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men
10in whose hands is wickedness; their right hand is full of bribes.
11But as for me, I will walk in my integrity. Redeem me, and be merciful to me.
Notice
The plea against being gathered with bloodthirsty men carries the fear of sharing their fate, in a psalm that also asks God for mercy.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What troubles you about the thought of sharing the fate of those who shed blood?
Write on thisHow does the nearby plea for mercy shape your reading of this request for separation?
Write on thisConnect
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
Psalm 1:5Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.Psalm 26 asks to be spared the fate of sinners; Psalm 1 declares that sinners will not stand among the righteous.
Psalm 28:3Don’t draw me away with the wicked, with the workers of iniquity who speak peace with their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts.Both prayers ask God not to sweep the speaker away with people whose lives are marked by wrongdoing.
Genesis 49:6My soul, don’t come into their council. My glory, don’t be united to their assembly; for in their anger they killed men. In their self-will they hamstrung …Both texts reject being joined with violent men, and Genesis names the killing that makes their assembly a place to refuse.
Psalm 59:2Deliver me from the workers of iniquity. Save me from the bloodthirsty men.Both prayers name bloodthirsty men and appeal to God to spare the speaker from being caught up with them.
Psalm 119:115Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.Both seek separation from evildoers; Psalm 119 connects that separation with keeping God’s commandments.
Judges 19:18He said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem Judah to the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem Judah. I am …The link is limited: the surrounding psalm mentions God’s house, while the traveler says he is going to the LORD’s house.
Matthew 25:32Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.The psalm asks against being gathered with sinners; Matthew describes a gathering of nations followed by separation.
Revelation 22:14–15Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city.Both concern life in relation to conduct: the psalm pleads against sharing sinners’ fate, while Revelation blesses those keeping God’s commandments.
Proverbs 24:1Don’t be envious of evil men, neither desire to be with them;Both reject being joined with evil men, though Proverbs addresses the desire for their company and the psalm fears sharing their fate.
Luke 17:34I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed. One will be taken and the other will be left.Psalm 26 asks to be spared a shared fate; Luke describes two people together who meet different outcomes.
Joshua 20:4He shall flee to one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his case in the ears of the elders of that city. …The link is limited to preservation of life: one speaker pleads with God, while Joshua describes a city receiving someone fleeing.
1 Kings 13:31After he had buried him, he spoke to his sons, saying, “When I am dead, bury me in the tomb in which the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones.Both concern whom someone is joined with, though the psalm asks for separation and Kings records a request for shared burial.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. fear for the future.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
This plea takes violence and its consequences seriously. As you pray it, keep the next words in view: the speaker who seeks integrity also depends on God’s mercy.
Now put it in your words.
Start an entry on Psalm 26:9. 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).