Psalms 18:26 (LSB)

Passage

With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.

Nearby Context

Psalms 18:24 Therefore Yahweh has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands before His eyes.

Psalms 18:25 With the kind You show Yourself kind; With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

Psalms 18:26 With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.

Psalms 18:27 For You save an afflicted people, But eyes which are lifted up, You bring down.

Psalms 18:28 For You light my lamp; Yahweh my God illumines my darkness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "pure", "show", "yourself", "crooked", and "astute". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "pure" and "show", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 25's "With the kind You show Yourself kind..." into verse 27's "For You save an afflicted people But...", so "pure" and "show" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "pure" and "show" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.