Psalms 10:3 Meaning and Explanation
“For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Evil often seeks more than private permission. It wants its desires praised, its companions affirmed, and its conduct treated as wisdom. This verse helps us recognize that boastfulness and the admiration of greed are serious spiritual signs, especially when they harm the poor whom this psalm repeatedly remembers.
Psalm 10:3 exposes the wicked person's moral disorder: he celebrates the desires of his own heart and approves greed in others, even though the LORD regards such covetousness with abhorrence.
The Context of Psalms 10:3
Psalm 10 is a lament spoken to the LORD during a time when arrogant and violent people appear secure. The psalmist describes their pride, deception, ambushes, and oppression of the poor, fatherless, and humble. Verse 3 belongs near the beginning of that description. Verse 2 has named the wicked person's persecution of the poor, and verse 4 shows his refusal to seek God. The chapter later records his inward claim that God will neither see nor require an account. The psalm turns in verse 12 into a plea for God to arise, and it ends with confidence that the LORD hears and judges for the oppressed.
What Does Psalms 10:3 Mean?
The verse begins, "For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire." His desire is presented as something he announces with pride, rather than something he brings under God's judgment. A heart can desire many good gifts, including daily bread, peace, family, and wisdom. The desire described here belongs to the character already displayed in the psalm: a person who persecutes the poor and lives as though God were absent from his thoughts. His boasting makes his inner aim public. He treats the satisfaction of his own will as a glory. Such speech reveals more than confidence. It reveals a heart that measures good by its own appetite and refuses the fear of the LORD.
He also "blesseth the covetous." To bless in this setting is to speak favorably of a person whose longing for gain has become grasping and harmful. The wicked person forms an approving company around greed. His words may make exploitation sound clever, success sound self-justifying, and wealth sound like a license to disregard others. Psalm 10 places this approval beside oppression because covetousness readily turns people into means for obtaining what one wants. The final words give God's assessment: the covetous person is one "whom the LORD abhorreth." The psalmist does not leave us with the wicked person's self-description. God sees the character that boastful speech tries to conceal.
The wider Scriptures consistently join love of God with a different way of valuing possessions and neighbors. Israel was commanded to love the LORD and to guard against coveting, while the prophets rebuked those who accumulated gain through injustice. Jesus warns against life being defined by possessions and teaches care for those in need. This connection fits Psalm 10 because Christ's ministry gives attention to the poor and oppressed whom the psalm commends to God's help. His way calls us toward generosity, truthful speech, and a heart whose desires are formed by God's kingdom. The verse therefore invites honest examination of the praise we give, the ambitions we admire, and the kind of gain we call blessed.
Bible Verses Related to Psalms 10:3
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.”
- Exodus 20:17
“He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.”
- Proverbs 28:25
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”
- Luke 12:15
“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
- 1 Timothy 6:10
How to Apply Psalms 10:3 Today
Our praise helps shape the moral climate around us. We can notice whether conversation celebrates possession, status, and getting ahead at another person's cost. In homes, workplaces, congregations, and online spaces, we can speak well of generosity, faithful work, justice, and care for people with little power. We can also bring our own desires before the LORD, asking whether they are leading us toward gratitude and service. When a desire becomes demanding, secretive, or willing to injure another person, Psalm 10 gives us words to name the danger. God's judgment is a call to truthfulness, repentance, and mercy.
Reflection & Prayer
Where have we been tempted to admire an ambition without asking how it treats other people? Consider one desire that needs to be held openly before God. Pray: "LORD, teach our hearts to delight in what is good. Keep us from praising greed, and make us generous toward those you place before us."