Psalms 18:26 (WEB)

Passage

With the pure, you will show yourself pure. With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.

Nearby Context

Psalms 18:24 Therefore Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

Psalms 18:25 With the merciful you will show yourself merciful. With the perfect man, you will show yourself perfect.

Psalms 18:26 With the pure, you will show yourself pure. With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.

Psalms 18:27 For you will save the afflicted people, but the haughty eyes you will bring down.

Psalms 18:28 For you will light my lamp, Yahweh. My God will light up my darkness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "pure", "show", "yourself", "crooked", and "shrewd". 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 merciful you will show yourself..." into verse 27's "For you will save the afflicted people...", 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.