Today’s Word
Spiritual Therapy
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…
The Lowly Preposition
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:…
Do Unto Others
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…
That Pride Thing
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…
Once and Twice
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…
Identity Theft (3)
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.” …
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