Psalms 101:5

Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off,.... That raises and spreads a false report of him; that insinuates evil things of him; that brings false charges and accusations against

Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer. -How the king will act in his public capacity. He will not endure slander or pride.

Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour; such as by secret and false informations and accusations of others seek to gain my favour, and to advance themselves by the ruin of others; which are the common pests of courts and kingdoms. An high look and a proud heart: these he mentions, because pride is the common plague of courts, and the fountain of many enormities in courtiers; it makes them imperious and insolent towards the poor oppressed subjects that resort to them for relief; it inclines them to those counsels and courses, not which are best for the public good, but which are most for their own honour and advantage; it makes them oppressive and injurious to others, that they may have wherewith to satisfy their own lusts.

Psalms 101:5 Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.Ver. 5. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour] Heb. Him that in secret tongue smiteth his fellow friend, will I suppress. This David purposed to do, but this he did not so thoroughly in the case of poor Mephibosheth, belied by false Ziba; his resolution was maledicos et maleficos a se depellere, to drive away from him sycophants, backbiters, flatterers; but there is a great sympathy between princes and such pests, those harpies and gaping crows of courts, as one calleth them. ( Sorices et tineas palatii appellabat Constant. Mag.). David promiseth fair to purge and eliminate from his house and court of such, and to cut them off, secundum leges regni, according to the laws of the kingdom, as Aben Ezra glosseth. Him that hath an high look] Pride will sit and show itself in the eyes as soon as anywhere. A man is seen for what he is, in oculis, in poculis, in loculis, say the Rabbis. See Proverbs 6:17. And a proud heart] Heb. a wide or broad heart, that thinketh great things of himself, and seeketh great things for himself. I will not suffer] Heb. I will not, sc. away with, or endure at any hand. The Greeks, and after them others, read, I will not eat with them. Legunt ocal pro ucal; and by large of heart, they understand belly gods, men of large appetites, such as were the two sons of Eli, Belialists, and Hellicones.

(5) Whoso . . .—The “informer” and the “haughty favourite” are no unknown characters in an Oriental court. Proud heart.—Literally, broad, that is, extended with pride. (Comp. Proverbs 21:4.) But LXX. and Vulg., “insatiable.” Will not I suffer.—In Hebrew a simple and expressive “I cannot,” to which we can supply “bear,” from Jeremiah 44:22. (Comp. Isaiah 1:13 : “I cannot away with.”)

Verse 5. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour] All flatterers and time-servers, and those who by insinuations and false accusations endeavour to supplant the upright, that they may obtain their offices for themselves or their dependants, will I consider as enemies to the state, I will abominate, and expel them from my court. The Chaldee gives a remarkable meaning to the Hebrew, מלשני בסתר רעהו melasheni bassether reehu, which we translate, Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, and which it renders thus, דמשתעי לישן תליתי על חבריה demishtaey lishan telitai al chabreyah: "He who speaks with the triple tongue against his neighbour." That is, the tongue by which he slays three persons, viz., 1. The man whom he slanders; 2. Him to whom he communicates the slander; and, 3. Himself, the slanderer. Every slanderer has his triple tongue, and by every slander inflicts those three deadly wounds. Such a person deserves to be cut off. On this subject St. Jerome speaks nearly in the same way: Ille qui detrahit, et se, et illum qui audit, demergit; "He who slanders ruins both himself and him who hears him;" he might have added, and him who is slandered, for this is often the case; the innocent are ruined by detraction. A high look and a proud heart] One who is seeking preferment; who sticks at nothing to gain it; and one who behaves himself haughtily and insolently in his office. Will not I suffer.] לא אוכל lo uchal, I cannot away with. These persons especially will I drive from my presence, and from all state employments.

5–8. He will not tolerate falsehood and pride and injustice around him, but will seek to fill his court with faithful ministers.

Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour - literally, “One who speaks concerning his neighbor in secret.” If a man has any good to say of another, he will be likely to say it openly; if he has any evil

5. Whose privily slandereth his neighbour—The most dangerous and the most detestable of practices, not unusual in kingly courts, especially in oriental lands.