complete verse (Psalm 101:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 101:7:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “Anyone who does fraud
    will not stay in my house.
    Anyone speaking fraudulently
    will not stand before me.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “Deceivers will not get to live in my house.
    People who tell lies will not get to remain in my presence.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “The people who (are) deceitful and liars can- not -stay in my palace.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “A person who continues telling lies,
    I will not stay with him in my house,
    and a person who deceives people,
    he will not stay in a place where I stay,” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Mdanganyifu hata mmoja hatakuja kukaa,
    nyumbani mwangu,
    mwongo sitampokea.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “I will not allow anyone who deceives others to work in my palace;
    no one who tells lies will be allowed to continually come to work for me.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Psalm 101:7 - 101:8

The psalm closes with the king’s promise to expel from his service every liar and hypocrite. Good News Translation seems to make a sharper distinction between the two than the Hebrew allows: “one who does deceit” in line a and “speaker of falsehoods” in line c may be strictly synonymous. (See in 52.2, 3 “lies” and “falsehood” in Good News Translation; in that passage Revised Standard Version has “worker of treachery” and “lying.”) But it may be that the first one involves deceitful actions, the second one falsehoods (so Revised Standard Version, New International Version; also New Jerusalem Bible “deals deceitfully” and “speaks untruth”). For translation suggestions on “hypocrite” see 26.4.

Finally the king promises to put to death (literally “to silence” as in verse 5a) all the wicked in Israel and to “cut off” from Jerusalem (“the city of Yahweh”) all the evildoers. He will do this “in the mornings,” that is, every morning, the usual time of day when cases were tried and judgment administered. The king himself would normally judge cases of greater importance. The promise seems exaggerated; as Anderson remarks, “The destruction of all the wicked in the land is an ideal rather than a fact.” And Weiser says “he expresses the lofty ideal principles whereby the conduct of a ruler shall be guided.” The expression Morning by morning or Good News Translation‘s “Day after day” may suggest that the same people are daily destroyed. If this is a serious problem, it may be necessary to say something like “Each day I will destroy those who do evil things,” it being assumed that evil never ceases to flourish.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .