Psalm 15 asks a simple question, “Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? or who shall rest in thy holy hill?”, and answers with a portrait of the just person: “He that walketh without blemish, and worketh justice: He that speaketh truth in his heart.” It is a short examination of conscience for anyone who wants to live close to God. In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 14. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.
Psalm 15 in the Douay-Rheims Bible
A psalm of David. Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? or who shall rest in thy holy hill?
He that walketh without blemish, and worketh justice:
He that speaketh truth in his heart, who hath not used deceit in his tongue: Nor hath done evil to his neighbour: nor taken up a reproach against his neighbours.
In his sight the malignant is brought to nothing: but he glorifieth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his neighbour, and deceiveth not;
He that hath not put out his money to usury, nor taken bribes against the innocent: He that doth these things shall not be moved for ever.
Psalm 15 or Psalm 14?
The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 14 is Psalm 15 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins Domine, quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo. See how many psalms are there?
What the psalm means
- Worship and life go together: to stand before God we must live justly with our neighbor.
- Truth in the heart: honesty begins inside, not only in our words.
- No harm to the neighbor: no slander, no evil, no reproach.
- Keeping one’s word: “He that sweareth to his neighbour, and deceiveth not.”
- Justice with money: no usury and no bribes “against the innocent.”
- Stability: “He that doth these things shall not be moved for ever.”
How the Church uses Psalm 15
- At Mass, for example the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) and the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B): “The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.”
- In the Liturgy of the Hours, at Evening Prayer.
- Before confession, as a short examination of conscience.
A prayer with Psalm 15
Written for this page:
Lord, who may live in your presence? Make me worthy to dwell with you.
Help me to walk without blame and to do what is right,
to speak the truth from my heart and never to harm my neighbor.
Keep me faithful to my word, and let me never be shaken. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
What is Psalm 15 about?
The kind of life that makes a person fit to dwell with God: honesty, justice, kindness to neighbors and fairness with money.
Is Psalm 15 like an examination of conscience?
Yes. Its list of qualities is a simple way to examine our lives before God.
More psalms and prayers
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Psalm 14 (15), Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayer was written for this page.