Psalms 36:1

For the music director; written by the Lord’s servant, David; an oracle. ²  An evil man is rebellious to the core. ³  He does not fear God, ⁴ 

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD. An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes.

<<For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD.>> Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes.

<<For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the LORD.>> Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God to restrain them.

The God-rebel tunes in to sedition--all ears, eager to sin. He has no regard for God, he stands insolent before him.

<To the chief music-maker. Of the servant of the Lord. Of David.> The sin of the evil-doer says in his heart, There is no fear of the Lord before his eyes.

Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in their hearts; there is no fear of God before their eyes.

<<To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD.>> An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes.

For the music director; written by the Lord’s servant, David; an oracle. ²  An evil man is rebellious to the core. ³  He does not fear God, ⁴ 

¹ sn Psalm 36. Though evil men plan to harm others, the psalmist is confident that the Lord is the just ruler of the earth who gives and sustains all life. He prays for divine blessing and protection and anticipates God’s judgment of the wicked.

² tn In the Hebrew text the word נאם (“oracle”) appears at the beginning of the next verse (v. 2 in the Hebrew text because the superscription is considered v. 1). The resulting reading, “an oracle of rebellion for the wicked [is] in the midst of my heart” (cf. NIV) apparently means that the psalm, which foresees the downfall of the wicked, is a prophetic oracle about the rebellion of the wicked which emerges from the soul of the psalmist. One could translate, “Here is a poem written as I reflected on the rebellious character of evil men.” Another option, followed in the translation above, is to attach נאם (nÿ’um, “oracle”) with the superscription. For another example of a Davidic poem being labeled an “oracle,” see 2 Sam 23:1.

³ tn Heb “[the] rebellion of an evil man [is] in the midst of my heart.” The translation assumes a reading “in the midst of his heart” (i.e., “to the core”) instead of “in the midst of my heart,” a change which finds support in a a few medieval Hebrew mss, the Hebrew text of Origen’s Hexapla, and the Syriac.

⁴ tn Heb “there is no dread of God before his eyes.” The phrase “dread of God” refers here to a healthy respect for God which recognizes that he will punish evil behavior.