Why read Psalm 25?
Read Psalm 25 to examine your conscience and renew your commitment to integrity. The psalmist asks God to search his heart and turns away from dishonesty, seeking to remain close to Him.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
Psalm 25 — “Judge me, Lord, for I in innocence...” — is the prayer through which the Psalmist places the experience of an entire hour of life before God. It belongs to the 4th Kathisma and has 12 verses, which you will find in full below.
The text of Psalm 25
1. Judge me, Lord, for I have walked without malice, and hoping in the Lord I shall not grow weak.
2. Examine me, Lord, and test me; kindle my kidneys and my heart.
3. For Your mercy is before my eyes, and Your truth has pleased me.
4. I have not sat in the assembly of vanity, and with lawbreakers I shall not enter.
5. I have hated the assembly of the deceitful, and with unbelievers I shall not sit.
6. I shall wash my hands in innocence and walk around Your altar, Lord,
7. To hear the voice of Your praise and tell of all Your wonders.
8. Lord, I have loved the beauty of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
9. Do not destroy my soul with unbelievers or my life with those who shed blood,
10. In whose hands are lawless deeds and whose right hand is full of gifts.
11. But I have walked without malice; deliver me, Lord, and have mercy on me,
12. For my foot stood in righteousness; in the assemblies I shall bless You, Lord.
When Psalm 25 is read
- It belongs to the 4th Kathisma and is recited in personal prayer, especially for peace and understanding.
- At the end of each psalm, tradition adds: «Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.».
Adjacent psalms
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
