The Meaning of Psalms 36:2 Explained

Psalms 36:2

KJV: For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.

YLT: For he made it smooth to himself in his eyes, To find his iniquity to be hated.

Darby: For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, even when his iniquity is found to be hateful.

ASV: For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, That his iniquity will not be found out and be hated.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For he flattereth  himself in his own eyes,  until his iniquity  be found  to be hateful. 

What does Psalms 36:2 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 36:1-12 - God The Fountain Of Life
The servant of the Lord, as the superscription tells us, is speaking here. He is horror-stricken at the ways and thoughts of the ungodly. By a bold image, Psalms 36:1, r.v., margin; Transgression is personified as speaking in the heart of the ungodly, as the Delphic oracle in her dark cave; and the answer from that secret oracle is full of smooth but beguiling words. So our first parents found it.
What a blessed thing it is to turn from man to God! Notice God's attributes as here enumerated: "thy lovingkindness" (r.v.), "thy faithfulness," "thy righteousness," "thy judgments." The golden bracelet begins and ends with love. All nature speaks, to the heart that loves, of the love of God. But they who fly to God find Him even better than nature can proclaim. He is better than banquets for hungry men. Let His life arise in thee as a fountain, and ask for the illumination of His light. Serenely sheltered under the wing, or in the house, of God, the soul may look out, unmoved, on "the wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds." [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 36

1  The grievous state of the wicked
8  The excellence of God's mercy
10  David prays for favor to God's children

What do the individual words in Psalms 36:2 mean?

For he flatters himself in his own eyes when he finds out his iniquity [and] when he hates
כִּֽי־ הֶחֱלִ֣יק אֵלָ֣יו בְּעֵינָ֑יו לִמְצֹ֖א עֲוֺנ֣וֹ לִשְׂנֹֽא

הֶחֱלִ֣יק  he  flatters 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָלַק 
Sense: to divide, share, plunder, allot, apportion, assign.
אֵלָ֣יו  himself 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
בְּעֵינָ֑יו  in  his  own  eyes 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, cdc, third person masculine singular
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
לִמְצֹ֖א  when  he  finds  out 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
עֲוֺנ֣וֹ  his  iniquity 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עָוֹן  
Sense: perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity.
לִשְׂנֹֽא  [and]  when  he  hates 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׂנֵא  
Sense: to hate, be hateful.