Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever mine. Psalm 119:98 NASB For they are ever mine – We might think that the last part of this verse is straightforward. No matter if the first part is a comparative or (syntax rearranged) a declaration of need, at least the last part seems…
Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever mine. Psalm 119:98 NASB Than – We need to pay close attention to the Hebrew text here. מֵאֹֽיְבַי תְּחַכְּמֵ֣נִי מִצְוֹתֶ֑ךָ כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם הִיא־לִֽי The opening word is from the root ʾāyab (to be an enemy), but it is the preposition (the prefixed min) that…
How I loved Your teaching. All the day it was my theme. Psalm 119:97 Robert Alter Theme – Remember the “perfect” tense—the completed action—of the first part of this verse. The psalmist is describing his collective experience of God’s instruction. He’s not projecting or anticipating something yet to be realized. He’s saying that he has already…
How I love Your Law! Psalm 119:97a NASB 97 How I love Your Law! It is my meditation all the day. 98 Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than those who are old, Because I have complied with Your precepts. 101 I…
I have seen a limit to all perfection; Your commandment is exceedingly broad. Psalm 119:96 NASB Perfection – What is the limit of all perfection? When you think about it, the phrase is a bit strange. If something is perfect it doesn’t have a limit. If it did, would it still be perfect? If I…
The wicked wait for me to destroy me; I will diligently consider Your testimonies. Psalm 119:95 NASB Diligently consider – Do you feel safe? I mean really safe, like not a care at all because no one can do you harm. Totally protected. Bulletproof all around. No chance of disaster, ruin, robbery, assault, collapse, surprise? Most…
I am Yours, save me; for I have sought Your precepts. Psalm 119:94 NASB I am Yours – While the English captures the idea, the Hebrew isn’t quite so straightforward. The phrase is lekā-‘ănî’. It’s really a preposition (l – “to, towards, in regard to”) and two pronouns (kā – you, and ănî – I). Literally, “to…
I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have revived me. Psalm 119:93 NASB Revived – The Hebrew verb ḥāyâ has a wide range of meanings: “live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live forever. Also be quickened, revive from sickness, discouragement, or even death.”[1] As if that weren’t enough, there are…
If Your Law had not been my delight, then I would have perished in my misery. Psalm 119:92 NASB Misery – Carefully consider this statement. Could you say the same thing? Is the law of God so wonderful, so amazing, so encouraging to you—so shaashuim, delightful—that without it you would be destroyed in affliction? Can I be…
They stand this day by Your ordinances, for all things are Your servants. Psalm 119:91 NASB They – The odd thing about pronouns is that without a reference point we have little idea what they actually mean. If I were to write, “He said something critically important,” but I didn’t tell you who “he” is, how could…
