Psalms 101:5 (KJV)

What does Psalms 101:5 mean?

Psalms 101:5 says that the speaker will not tolerate people who secretly damage a neighbour’s reputation or treat others with arrogance. The verse presents both hidden speech and a proud attitude as reasons for excluding someone from the speaker’s company.

The speaker makes a personal commitment: “him will I cut off” and “will not I suffer.” A “high look” pictures someone looking down on others, while a “proud heart” points to the attitude behind that expression.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 101:5

• “off” — צָמַת (tsamat): This word can mean to cut off or destroy. Here, it gives force to the speaker’s decision to remove the slanderer, though “cut off” does not by itself specify how.
• “proud” — רָחָב (rachav): This word often means broad or wide. Paired with “heart,” it pictures an inflated sense of oneself.
• “suffer” — יָכֹל (yakhol): This word often means to be able. In the KJV phrase “will not I suffer,” it carries the sense that the speaker cannot bear or tolerate such a person.

Why Psalms 101:5 matters

• The verse concerns more than open misconduct. “Privily” means that the slander takes place in secret, beyond the neighbour’s hearing.
• The surrounding verses show that the speaker is describing the kind of people he will keep near him. Verse 6 turns to those he will welcome to serve him, creating a contrast with those excluded in verse 5.