What Does Psalm 101:7 Mean?
The one who works deceit shall not settle within my house; the one who speaks lies shall not stand firm before my eyes.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.THE KEY
The verse denies deceit two forms of permanence: it cannot dwell within the house or become established before the seeing eye.
THE MEANING
Deceit cannot become at home in the reader’s life, and a lie cannot establish itself in the clear gaze. What is false may be spoken, but speech alone does not give it a lasting foundation or a place of belonging.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that a falsehood becomes secure simply by being spoken or sheltered; neither gives it firm standing.
THE ROOT
יִכּוֹן
yikkōn
GROWS FROM
כון
k-w-n
To be firm, established, or prepared.
“stand firm” in this verse is yikkōn. Beneath “tarry” is the sense of becoming firm or established. The verse says the lie does not gain a settled footing before the eye.
ALSO GROWS
nakhōn: Firm, established, or ready.
נָכוֹן
This branch makes clear that the verse concerns whether falsehood can become settled.
hēkhīn: To prepare or make ready.
הֵכִין
The same root can describe something being made ready or established, sharpening the contrast with a lie that cannot take its place.
רְמִיָּה
remiyyāh
GROWS FROM
רמה
r-m-h
To deceive or deal treacherously.
Deceit is named as something enacted, not only as a false idea. The verse places that act alongside lying speech, closing off both deed and word from a settled place.
ALSO GROWS
rāmāh: To deceive or act treacherously.
רָמָה
This verbal branch shows deceit as an action, matching “worketh deceit.”
mirmāh: Deceit or treachery.
מִרְמָה
This related noun names the treacherous quality that the verse says cannot dwell within the house.
שְׁקָרִים
sheqārīm
GROWS FROM
שקר
sh-q-r
Falsehood; to deal falsely or lie.
The verse pairs enacted deceit with spoken falsehood. Its final image says that lies do not become established simply because they are given voice.
ALSO GROWS
sheqer: Falsehood or a lie.
שֶׁקֶר
This singular form names the falsehood that appears here in plural as “lies.”
shāqar: To lie or deal falsely.
שָׁקַר
This verb connects the false words to the act of speaking falsely.
THE PATTERN
Truth can take root in a life and endure, while falsehood cannot secure a lasting place.
He who walks whole, works alignment, and speaks truth in his heart.The lip of truth stands firm for the ages, but a lying tongue lasts only for a blink.Therefore, taking off lying, speak truth, each one with his neighbor, for we are limbs of one another.THE THREAD
The lip of truth stands firm for the ages, but a lying tongue lasts only for a blink.Proverbs uses כון (kûn, to be established) for truth’s lasting footing, the same root beneath “tarry” here. It also names falsehood with שקר (sh-q-r, falsehood), the root behind “lies”: together, the verses show truth enduring where falsehood cannot become established.
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