The wicked have set a trap for me, yet I have not wandered from Your precepts. Psalm 119:110 NASB Trap – The Hebrew word translated “trap” is paḥ. It is literally a snare for birds. Its root is pāḥaḥ, to ensnare. Why would we want to be sure that we understand its use before we use “trap.” …
My life is continually in my hand, yet I do not forget Your Law. Psalm 119:109 NASB Continually in my hand – Do you find this verse rather odd? After all the deference to God’s sovereign governance, we would expect that psalmist to say that his life is entirely in God’s hand, not his own. So, what’s happening…
Be pleased to accept the voluntary offerings of my mouth, Lord, and teach me Your judgments. Psalm 119:107 NASB Voluntary offerings – Abraham Heschel formulated Man’s critical question: “What does God demand of me?” It’s amazing that we have turned this question upside-down. In our modern religious world, the question becomes “What do I demand of God?” Well,…
I am exceedingly afflicted; Revive me, Lord, according to Your word. Psalm 119:107 NASB Revive – By this time it will come as no surprise that the verb here is ḥāyâ (to live, have life). The choice of “revive” comes from the tone of the verse, not from the literal translation. As you can see in the…
I have sworn and I will confirm it, that I will keep Your righteous judgments. Psalm 119:106 NASB Sworn/confirm – Are you ready? Ready to swear an oath to God’s governance of the world? Ready to stand up, be marked, be despised and rejected by men? Are you willing to put your life on the line? …
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 NASB נֵר־לְרַגְלִ֥י דְבָרֶ֑ךָ וְ֜א֗וֹר לִנְתִֽיבָתִֽי 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. נִשְׁבַּ֥עְתִּי וָֽאֲקַיֵּ֑מָה לִ֜שְׁמֹ֗ר מִשְׁפְּטֵ֥י צִדְקֶֽךָ 106 I have sworn and I will confirm it, that I will keep Your righteous judgments. נַֽעֲנֵ֥יתִי עַד־מְאֹ֑ד…
How I loved Your teaching. All the day it was my theme. Psalm 119:97 Robert Alter I loved – We’ve reached the end of the Mem section of this acrostic, but before we continue, we need to recognize a larger pattern. The acrostic is made up of blocks (verses that begin with the same letter). Each…
From Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Psalm 119:104 NASB Get understanding – What does it mean to “get understanding.” In our word-intensive, dictionary-based culture, we would probably say that it means to gather useful information. For that we can (sometimes) just Google. What’s delivered is information, but that isn’t “understanding” in…
How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103 NASB Your words – What do Genesis 1:3, 3:1 and 3:10 have in common with Psalm 119:103? The answer is ʾāmar, the Hebrew verb for “say, speak, command, promise.” Of course, there are a lot of other verses that use this…
I have not turned aside from Your judgments, for You Yourself have taught me. Psalm 119:102 NASB You Yourself – Emphasis added. The actual Hebrew text just uses ʾattâ, the second person singular pronoun, “you.” “It is appended to verbs for emphasis. Its use in oblique cases (genitive and accusative) is to afford stress to a…
