Remember the word to Your servant, in which You have made me hope. Psalm 119:49 NASB Remember – the Zayin section: זְכָר־דָּבָ֥ר לְעַבְדֶּ֑ךָ עַ֜֗ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִֽחַלְתָּֽנִי זֹ֣את נֶחָֽמָתִ֣י בְעָנְיִ֑י כִּ֖י אִמְרָֽתְךָ֣ חִיָּֽתְנִי זֵדִים הֱלִיצֻ֣נִי עַד־מְאֹ֑ד מִ֜תּוֹרָֽתְךָ֗ לֹ֣א נָטִֽיתִי זָ֘כַ֚רְתִּי מִשְׁפָּטֶ֖יךָ מֵֽעוֹלָ֥ם | יְהֹוָ֗ה וָֽאֶתְנֶחָֽם זַלְעָפָ֣ה אֲחָזַתְנִי מֵֽרְשָׁעִ֑ים עֹֽ֜זְבֵ֗י תּֽוֹרָתֶֽךָ זְמִרוֹת הָֽיוּ־לִ֥י חֻקֶּ֗יךָ בְּבֵ֣ית מְגוּרָֽי זָ֘כַ֚רְתִּי…
I will delight in Your commandments, which I love. Psalm 119:47 NASB Commandments – Before we look at the word bemiṣvotĕ’kā, we should note the unusual verb for “I will delight.” That verb is šāʿaʿ. It’s unusual because here and in verse 16 it is a Hithpalpel. What does that mean? It means that the subject of…
I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings and shall not be ashamed. Psalm 119:46 NASB Shall not be ashamed – If you’ve discovered anything at all in this vav section, it’s that each of these verses not only begins with a vav but also is a past statement of God’s faithfulness and the poet’s…
And I will walk [q]at liberty, For I seek Your precepts. Psalm 119:45 NASB At liberty – “The high plateau in the heart of the Dolomites is a natural paradise in summer and winter and a wonderful destination for versatile day trips.”[1] Click on the footnote below if you want to see this fabulous place. And now I’ll…
And I shall keep Your Torah constantly, forever and ever. Psalm 119:44 Chabad I shall keep – What is the psalmist actually saying? Is he claiming that if God allows him to speak the whole truth (verse 43), he will then keep Torah forever? Or is he saying that, unlike Moses, he knows God gives…
And do not take out utterly from my mouth a word of truth, because I hoped for Your words. Psalm 119:43 Chabad Utterly – The English seems a little jilted, doesn’t it? We just don’t speak this way. The NASB offers little more: “And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my…
And I shall answer a word to those who disgrace me, for I trusted in Your word. Psalm 119:42 Chabad Shall answer a word – Are you ready to reread the text in vav-conversive? As you can see in the translation of Chabad, this verb (ʿānâ) is treated as a future tense, that is, “I…
May Your favor also come to me, Lord, Your salvation according to Your [o]word; Psalm 119:41 NASB Also come to me – וִֽיבֹאֻ֣נִי Oh my, what a lot is packed into such a small word! We’ve explored the oddity of “come” and “go.” We’ve noticed the shift in tense from future to past. We’ve looked at the jussive “wish.” …
May Your favor also come to me, Lord, Your salvation according to Your [o]word; Psalm 119:41 NASB Also come to me – Here’s the vav section of our acrostic. Notice the first word of the first line – וִֽיבֹאֻ֣נִי. You’ll see the vav but you might not know how it works. Let me explain. Vav has two functions. As…
Aleph . . . Hey Psalm 119:1-40 The Acrostic Thus Far It’s easy to not see the forest for the trees. We’ve been looking closely at the trees for forty verses, and we’ve discovered amazing things. The details of word choice, the interesting and commanding twists in grammar, the skill of the poet to create…
