Bible Strands
2 Samuel 22:27
to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David speaks to God as the architect of his military deliverance, closing a psalm that catalogues his triumphs over Saul and surrounding nations.
The words — The Hebrew עִקֵּ֖שׁ ('i.Kesh) literally means a perverse or twisted person, matched with the verb תִּתַּפָּֽל (ti.ta.Pal), which describes God showing Himself twisted or shrewd in response.
The thread — The identical phrasing occurs in Psalms 18:26, while the principle of divine reciprocity runs through the purity mandate of Matthew 5:8 and the warning of sustained hostility in Leviticus 26:23.
Why it lands — The text states that God’s manner of engagement mirrors a person’s moral direction, requiring readers to acknowledge that their own posture dictates how they will experience divine interaction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury.
Cross-references
- Psalms 18:26 to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.
- Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
- Leviticus 26:23 And if in spite of these things you do not accept My discipline, but continue to walk in hostility toward Me,
- Psalms 125:5 But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.
- Isaiah 45:9 Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker—one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?
- Exodus 18:11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for He did this when they treated Israel with arrogance.”
- Deuteronomy 28:58 If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God—