I hate and loathe falsehood, but I love Your Law. Psalm 119:163 NASB Loathe – As you will recall, we encountered the English translated word “loathe” in verse 158. There we discovered that the Hebrew qûṭ meant “intense disgust, repulsion,” in other words, something that makes you sick to your stomach. Now we have the same English word,…
I rejoice at Your word, like one who finds great plunder. Psalm 119:162 NASB Plunder – The poet expresses a feeling we might find embarrassing. We don’t usually relish in taking booty from invasions. So, we’ll have to reach way back in that collective unconscious to resurrect the exuberance that comes from the destruction of an enemy and…
Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your words. Psalm 119:161 NASB שָׂ֭רִים רְדָפ֣וּנִי חִנָּ֑ם (ומדבריך) [וּ֝מִדְּבָרְךָ֗] פָּחַ֥ד לִבִּֽי Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of Your words. שָׂ֣שׂ אָ֭נֹכִי עַל־אִמְרָתֶ֑ךָ כְּ֝מוֹצֵ֗א שָׁלָ֥ל רָֽב I rejoice at Your word, like one who finds great plunder. שֶׁ֣קֶר שָׂ֭נֵאתִי וַאֲתַעֵ֑בָה תּוֹרָתְךָ֥ אָהָֽבְתִּי…
The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments is everlasting. Psalm 119:160 Sum – The head of the year. The chief of the tribe. The top of the mountain. The corner stone. The first of Mankind. rōʾš, and all its derivatives, are found more than 750 times in Scripture, with a wide…
Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, Lord, according to Your faithfulness. Psalm 119:159 NASB Consider – What does the Hebrew rāʾâ imply? Does it mean “to bring to mind (consider)”? Or does it mean something more? Perhaps you recognize the root, “to see.” It also means “to look at” and “to inspect.” The translation “consider”…
I see the treacherous and loathe them, because they do not keep Your word. Psalm 119:158 NASB Loathe – “Loathe” is not a verb we use often. That might be because it came into the English language only a few hundred years ago, or it might be because it has such an overpowering meaning that we shy away…
Many are my persecutors and my enemies, yet I do not turn aside from Your testimonies. Psalm 119:157 NASB Persecutors – The Beatitudes are not Greek blessings. They are Hebrew character descriptions. If you don’t connect this verse in the Psalms with Yeshua’s remarks on the hillside, you’ve missed something important for both verses. Let’s start with Matthew…
Great are Your mercies, Lord; revive me according to Your judgments. Psalm 119:156 NASB Mercies – The first thing you need to know about God is His compassion. The second thing you need to know is that you can’t completely understand His compassion unless you’re a mother. Why? Because the Hebrew term raḥămîm isn’t just about…
Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes. Psalm 119:155 NASB Far from – As you know, English translations often rearrange the Hebrew syntax so that the resulting statements are grammatically correct. When this happens, the emphasis and contrasts of Hebrew are typically lost. In a way, it’s inevitable since transitioning from…
Plead my cause and redeem me; revive me according to Your word. Psalm 119:154 NASB Redeem – The close-by-ness God listens. In fact, He listens even when we argue. That’s the sense of “plead my cause” (rîbā(h)’ rîbî). You might understand it better if we didn’t use synonyms: “Argue my argument.” The word is used twice. The…
