My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your word. Psalm 119:25 NASB Clings – Before we start the next “chapter” of this poem, let’s take a quick look at the letter Daleth. Here’s the text of this section: דָּֽבְקָ֣ה לֶֽעָפָ֣ר נַפְשִׁ֑י חַ֜יֵּ֗נִי כִּדְבָרֶֽךָ דְּרָכַ֣י סִ֖פַּרְתִּי וַֽ֜תַּֽעֲנֵ֗נִי לַמְּדֵ֥נִי חֻקֶּֽיךָ דֶּֽרֶךְ־פִּקּוּדֶ֥יךָ הֲבִינֵ֑נִי וְ֜אָשִׂ֗יחָה בְּנִפְלְאוֹתֶֽיךָ דָּֽלְפָ֣ה נַ֖פְשִׁי…
Your testimonies also are my delight; they are my advisers. Psalm 119:24 NASB Advisors – How much would you pay for really good advice? I suppose the answer depends on the seriousness of the problem. So, suppose the problem is a life or death issue. What’s that worth? Those are the stakes in this verse. The…
Even though rulers sit and speak against me, your servant meditates on Your statutes. Psalm 119:23 NASB Against – You will translate this tiny preposition according to the way you read the previous verse. Why? Because bĕhas a very wide range of meanings and context is often the only way to tell which English word to use. Harris notes:…
Take disgrace and contempt away from me, for I comply with Your testimonies. Psalm 119:22 NASB Disgrace and contempt – How do you read this? Is the poet asking God to remove something that is happening to him, or is he asking God to removing something that he too often does? What is his situation? Are…
You rebuke the arrogant, the cursed, who wander from Your commandment. Psalm 119:21 NASB Arrogant – We have a contemporary proverb, based on an ancient one (Proverbs 16:18-19). It goes something like this: pride comes before a fall. If we wanted to say it in Hebrew, we’d most likely use the word zēd. Here it is plural encompassing…
My soul is crushed with longing for Your ordinances at all times. Psalm 119:20 NASB Crushed – Put in the place of emphasis, gāraš is first in the sentence. Of course, that also continues the acrostic, but here we have a word used only once (maybe twice) in the Tanakh. It’s a good thing a derivative…
I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me. Psalm 119:19 NASB I am – Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Genesis 27:19a NASB Some time ago (September 28, 2018) I wrote about the shift in the idea of “individual.” …
I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me. Psalm 119:19 NASB I am – The word ʾānōkî might remind you of previous investigations of the longer form of “I” in Hebrew. We looked into this word when we noticed in it Genesis 28:15. “Behold, I am with you,” said God…
I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me. Psalm 119:19 NASB Stranger – The first thing to notice is the syntax. גֵּ֣ר אָנֹכִ֣י בָאָ֑רֶץ Literally: “stranger I am on earth.” The personal identity word comes first, in the place of emphasis. gēr ʾānōkî “The root means to live among people…
Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your Law. Psalm 119:18 NASB Open – Are you blindfolded and don’t even know it? Are you sitting in the cave starring at the wall, seeing shadows of things passing behind you and thinking that those shadows are real? Well, here’s the solution. גָּלָה (gālâ)…
