I cling to Your testimonies; Lord, do not put me to shame! Psalm 119:31 NASB Put me to shame – In order to feel the impact of the psalmist’s plea, we must notice his use of dābaq, the word first found in Genesis 2:24. Looking back a few verses, we see the poet’s deliberate allusion to…
I have chosen the faithful way; I have [l]placed Your judgments before me. Psalm 119:30 NASB Placed – What does “I have placed” really mean? TWOT notes the difficulty with this word in translation: “The use of šāwâ in Ps 119:30 is open to question. Is it, ‘Your judgments have I “placed” before me,’(šāwâ II); or, ‘Your…
Remove the false way from me, and graciously grant me Your Law. Psalm 119:29 NASB False way – dĕrĕk šĕqĕr. We know dĕrĕk, the common Hebrew word for the pathway of life, the journey we travel from birth to death, and, in particular, the right road of God. Now we add šĕqĕr. “šāqar [the root…
My soul weeps because of grief; strengthen me according to Your word. Psalm 119:28 NASB Weeps – The psalmist likes unusual words. That’s stock and trade for poetry. It makes the reader pay attention. So, here he uses dālap, found in only two other places (Job 16:20 and Ecclesiastes 10:18). The context tells us that once it…
Make me understand the way of Your precepts, and I will meditate on Your wonders. Psalm 119:27 NASB Make me – Not many of us would willingly ask God to do what the psalmist asks. He uses the Hebrew bîn which means“understand, consider, perceive, prudent, regard.”[1] That seems pretty tame. The verb and its derivatives are…
I have told of my ways, and You have answered me; teach me Your statutes. Psalm 119:26 NASB My ways – God’s history isn’t the only history. You have one too. A personal, very private, history of your ways. All of them. Most of which you probably wouldn’t want to share in public. But that…
For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished! Matthew 5:18 NASB Pass away – When God created, what did He create? Oh, I don’t want you to give me a list of all the…
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:…
