The Meaning of Psalms 66:18 Explained

Psalms 66:18

KJV: If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

YLT: Iniquity, if I have seen in my heart, The Lord doth not hear.

Darby: Had I regarded iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not hear.

ASV: If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

If I regard  iniquity  in my heart,  the Lord  will not hear  [me]: 

What does Psalms 66:18 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 66:16-20 - "let All The Peoples Praise Thee"
Come and hear, Psalms 66:16-20
The psalm began with Come and see, Psalms 66:5. Compare Mark 5:19-20; John 4:29. It will be one of the employments of heaven to go from group to group to tell what God has done for us. But each hearer will have a tale as wonderful as ours. We must praise without stint, and pray with pure and unselfish motives. From such prayers God will not turn away.
Psalms 67:1-7, like Psalms 65:1-13, was composed for use at an annual festival. "Bless us," say the saints in yearning prayer. "God shall bless us," is the certain answer of faith, Psalms 67:1; Psalms 67:7. We desire blessing, not to hoard for ourselves, but that all mankind may share with us. Ask for God's smile on yourself alone, and you will miss it; ask for it that you may reflect and pass it on, and the Lord will become your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be ended.
Four times the psalmist cries, Let the peoples praise thee, R.V. In answer to his appeal, it seemed as if the whole world had broken out into fresh fertility. Our own God, Psalms 67:6. He has given Himself to us, and each may have the whole of the fullness as an estate of boundless extent and wealth, Numbers 18:20; Psalms 16:5. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 66

1  David exhorts to praise God
5  observe his great works
8  to bless him for his gracious benefits
12  He vows for himself reverent service to God
16  He declares God's special goodness to himself

What do the individual words in Psalms 66:18 mean?

Iniquity if I regard in my heart not will hear the Lord
אָ֭וֶן אִם־ רָאִ֣יתִי בְלִבִּ֑י לֹ֖א יִשְׁמַ֣ע ׀ אֲדֹנָֽי

אָ֭וֶן  Iniquity 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָוֶן 
Sense: trouble, wickedness, sorrow.
רָאִ֣יתִי  I  regard 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
בְלִבִּ֑י  in  my  heart 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
יִשְׁמַ֣ע ׀  will  hear 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
אֲדֹנָֽי  the  Lord 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲדֹנָי  
Sense: my lord, lord.