Psalms 15 · ESV Study Bible

Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill?

PSALM 15 [†] O LORD, u who shall sojourn in your v tent?

Who shall dwell on your w holy hill?

2[^][†] He who x walks blamelessly and y does what is right

and z speaks truth in his heart;

3 who a does not slander with his tongue

and does no evil to his neighbor,

nor b takes up a reproach against his friend;

4[†] c in whose eyes a vile person is despised,

but who honors those who fear the LORD;

who d swears to his own hurt and does not change;

5[†] who e does not put out his money at interest

and f does not take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be g moved.

A h Miktam [1] of David.

PSALM—NOTE ON 15:4 vile person. This is the member of God’s people who rejects covenant life (cf. Jer. 6:30, “rejected”). Such a person is despised because he brings disgrace on the God whose people they are. Those who fear the LORD are those who embrace the covenant, and the ideal person honors them. He does not change when he swears to his own hurt, i.e., he keeps his promises and does not seek to get out of them, even if that ends up being costly to him—because when he swears he has taken God as his witness.

PSALM—NOTE ON 15:5 put out his money at interest. When the Pentateuch laws regulate loans, they are generally envisioning private loans to a neighbor (say, when his crops fail and he needs help buying seed for planting) rather than commercial transactions. In such cases Israelites are forbidden to charge interest to their fellow Israelites (see Deut. 23:19–20, “your brother”); they may charge interest to a foreigner. The psalm does not mention “his brother,” which seems to suggest that the ideal person deals generously and fairly with all people; he goes beyond what the law requires. To take a bribe against the innocent is an outrage against the justice that should characterize God’s people (Deut. 16:19; 27:25); it also scorns the very character of God (Deut. 10:17).

PSALM—NOTE ON Psalm 15. This is a hymn celebrating the ideal worshiper of the Lord. Some call it an entrance liturgy, prescribing questions and answers by which the priests examine would-be worshipers for their qualifications for entering holy space. This is unlikely, however, since the qualities described in this hymn are matters of the heart, and thus no priest could know whether or not they were present. Similar passages appear in 24:3–6 and Isa. 33:14–16. The singing congregation does not claim to have achieved these character qualities; instead, in describing them the members yearn to have them more and more.

PSALM—NOTE ON 15:1 Question: Who Shall Dwell with God? The tent (cf. 27:4–6) and holy hill speak of the sanctuary where God is especially present with his people; to sojourn or dwell there is to be a divinely welcomed guest in God’s house (cf. 61:4; 65:4), the end for which humans were made.