Psalm 18:25
New International Version
To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

New Living Translation
To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity.

English Standard Version
With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

Berean Standard Bible
To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

King James Bible
With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;

New King James Version
With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;

New American Standard Bible
With the faithful You show Yourself faithful; With the blameless You prove Yourself blameless;

NASB 1995
With the kind You show Yourself kind; With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

NASB 1977
With the kind Thou dost show Thyself kind; With the blameless Thou dost show Thyself blameless;

Legacy Standard Bible
With the kind You show Yourself kind; With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

Amplified Bible
With the kind (merciful, faithful, loyal) You show Yourself kind, With the blameless You show Yourself blameless,

Christian Standard Bible
With the faithful you prove yourself faithful, with the blameless you prove yourself blameless,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
With the faithful You prove Yourself faithful; with the blameless man You prove Yourself blameless;

American Standard Version
With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; With the perfect man thou wilt show thyself perfect;

Contemporary English Version
You are always loyal to your loyal people, and you are faithful to the faithful.

English Revised Version
With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with the perfect man thou wilt shew thyself perfect;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
[In dealing] with faithful people you are faithful, with innocent people you are innocent,

Good News Translation
O LORD, you are faithful to those who are faithful to you; completely good to those who are perfect.

International Standard Version
To the holy, you show your gracious love, to the upright, you show yourself upright;

Majority Standard Bible
To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

NET Bible
You prove to be loyal to one who is faithful; you prove to be trustworthy to one who is innocent.

New Heart English Bible
With the faithful you show yourself faithful. With the innocent you show yourself innocent.

Webster's Bible Translation
With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright;

World English Bible
With the merciful you will show yourself merciful. With the perfect man, you will show yourself perfect.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
With the kind You show Yourself kind, "" With a perfect man You show Yourself perfect.

Young's Literal Translation
With the kind Thou showest Thyself kind, With a perfect man showest Thyself perfect.

Smith's Literal Translation
With the kind thou wilt show thyself kind; and with the blameless man thou wilt be perfect.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
With the holy, thou wilt be holy; and with the innocent man thou wilt be innocent.

Catholic Public Domain Version
With the holy, you will be holy, and with the innocent, you will be innocent,

New American Bible
Toward the faithful you are faithful; to the honest man you are honest;

New Revised Standard Version
With the loyal you show yourself loyal; with the blameless you show yourself blameless;
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
With the pure thou shalt be pure; with an upright man thou shalt be upright.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
With the pure one, you will be pure, and with the perfect one, you will be perfect.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
With the merciful Thou dost show Thyself merciful, With the upright man Thou dost show Thyself upright;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
With the holy thou wilt be holy; and with the innocent man thou wilt be innocent.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The LORD is My Rock
24So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. 25To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless; 26to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.…

Cross References
Matthew 5:7
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

James 2:13
For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Luke 6:36
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

2 Samuel 22:26
To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

Proverbs 11:27
He who searches out good finds favor, but evil will come to him who seeks it.

Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. / But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.

Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.

Colossians 3:12-13
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. / Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

1 Peter 3:8-9
Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble. / Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Matthew 18:33
Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’

Luke 1:50
His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.

Romans 12:8
if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, / who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.


Treasury of Scripture

With the merciful you will show yourself merciful; with an upright man you will show yourself upright;

With the

Psalm 41:1-4
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble…

Psalm 112:4-6
Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous…

Nehemiah 9:17
And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.

thou wilt

Isaiah 26:7
The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.

Ezekiel 18:25-30
Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? …

Romans 9:14
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

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Blameless Faithful Gracious Kind Loyal Merciful Mercy Perfect Shew Show Showest Thyself Upright Wilt
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Psalm 18
1. David praises God for his manifold and marvelous blessings














With the merciful
The Hebrew word for "merciful" here is "חָסִיד" (chasid), which is often translated as "faithful" or "kind." This term is deeply rooted in the concept of "chesed," a covenantal love and loyalty that God shows to His people. In the context of Psalm 18, David is acknowledging that God responds to individuals in a manner consistent with their own behavior. The merciful, those who show steadfast love and kindness, will experience God's mercy in return. This reflects a broader biblical principle that emphasizes the importance of embodying God's character in our interactions with others.

You show Yourself merciful
The phrase underscores the reciprocal nature of God's dealings with humanity. The verb "תִּתְחַסָּד" (tithassad) is a reflexive form, indicating that God actively reveals His mercy to those who are merciful. This is not merely a passive attribute of God but an active engagement with His creation. Historically, this reflects the covenant relationship between God and Israel, where God's faithfulness and mercy are contingent upon the people's adherence to His commandments. It serves as a reminder that God's character is consistent and that He desires His followers to reflect His mercy in their lives.

With the blameless man
The term "blameless" is translated from the Hebrew word "תָּמִים" (tamim), which conveys a sense of completeness, integrity, and moral uprightness. In the ancient Near Eastern context, being blameless was not about being sinless but about living a life of integrity and wholehearted devotion to God. This concept is echoed throughout the Psalms and the wisdom literature, where the blameless are often contrasted with the wicked. The blameless man is one who walks in accordance with God's laws and seeks to live a life that is pleasing to Him.

You show Yourself blameless
This phrase highlights God's perfect and unblemished nature. The verb form here suggests that God reveals His own blamelessness to those who strive to live with integrity. It is a divine assurance that God will deal with individuals in a manner that reflects their own pursuit of righteousness. This is consistent with the biblical theme that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him and live according to His statutes. It serves as an encouragement for believers to pursue a life of holiness, knowing that God Himself is the ultimate standard of blamelessness.

(25-27) It is better to change all the futures into our present. We cannot explain this description of God's attitude to man, as if the poet were merely dealing with the conception of the Divine formed in the breast. No doubt his words are amply true in this sense. The human heart makes its God like itself, and to the pure and just He will be a pure and just God, to the cruel and unjust, cruel and unjust. But the definite mention of recompense in Psalm 18:24, and the reference to active interposition in behalf of the just in Psalm 18:27, leave us no option but to understand by "shew thyself" in Psalm 18:25-26, not an inward conception, but an external manifestation. It is, in fact, nothing more than a re-statement of the truth of which the history of Pharaoh is the most signal historic declaration, and which we maintain whenever we speak of the natural consequences of sin as retributive justice, the truth which is summed up in the text, "whatsoever a mau soweth that shall he also reap." We must at the same time remember that the form of the statement in the psalm is due to the view current in Israel before the development of the conception of Satanic agency, that all suggestions, evil as well as good, came from the mind of the Supreme Disposer of events.

(25) Man.--The text of Samuel has "hero" (gebor instead of gebar).

Verses 25-28. - A short didactic digression is here interposed, extending the principles on which God has dealt with David and his enemies, to mankind generally (vers. 25-27); after which a return is made to Go&'s special dealings with David (ver. 28). Verse 25. - With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful. The main principle is that God will act towards men as they act towards him. If they are kindly, gracious, loving towards him - for this is what the word chasid means - he will be kindly, gracious, loving towards them, and vice versa, as explained in vers. 26, 27. With an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright; or, a perfect man (Revised Version). The word is the same as that used in Psalm 4:3; Psalm 12:1; Psalm 31:23; Psalm 34:6; Psalm 37:28, etc., and generally translated "godly," or, in the plural, "saints."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
To
עִם־ (‘im-)
Preposition
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

the faithful
חָסִ֥יד (ḥā·sîḏ)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2623: Kind, pious

You show Yourself faithful,
תִּתְחַסָּ֑ד (tiṯ·ḥas·sāḏ)
Verb - Hitpael - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 2616: To bow, to be kind, to reprove

to
עִם־ (‘im-)
Preposition
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

the blameless
תָּ֝מִ֗ים (tā·mîm)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 8549: Entire, integrity, truth

You show Yourself blameless,
תִּתַּמָּֽם׃ (tit·tam·mām)
Verb - Hitpael - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 8552: To be complete or finished


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OT Poetry: Psalm 18:25 With the merciful you will show yourself (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 18:24
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