104 I gain understanding(A) from your precepts;
    therefore I hate every wrong path.(B)

נ Nun

105 Your word is a lamp(C) for my feet,
    a light(D) on my path.

Read full chapter

97-104 Oh, how I love all you’ve revealed;
    I reverently ponder it all the day long.
Your commands give me an edge on my enemies;
    they never become obsolete.
I’ve even become smarter than my teachers
    since I’ve pondered and absorbed your counsel.
I’ve become wiser than the wise old sages
    simply by doing what you tell me.
I watch my step, avoiding the ditches and ruts of evil
    so I can spend all my time keeping your Word.
I never make detours from the route you laid out;
    you gave me such good directions.
Your words are so choice, so tasty;
    I prefer them to the best home cooking.
With your instruction, I understand life;
    that’s why I hate false propaganda.

* * *

105-112 By your words I can see where I’m going;
    they throw a beam of light on my dark path.
I’ve committed myself and I’ll never turn back
    from living by your righteous order.
Everything’s falling apart on me, God;
    put me together again with your Word.
Adorn me with your finest sayings, God;
    teach me your holy rules.
My life is as close as my own hands,
    but I don’t forget what you have revealed.
The wicked do their best to throw me off track,
    but I don’t swerve an inch from your course.
I inherited your book on living; it’s mine forever—
    what a gift! And how happy it makes me!
I concentrate on doing exactly what you say—
    I always have and always will.

* * *

Read full chapter

104 Your precepts give me discernment.
Therefore I hate all deceitful actions.[a]

נ (Nun)

105 Your word[b] is a lamp to walk by,
and a light to illumine my path.[c]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 119:104 tn Heb “every false path.”
  2. Psalm 119:105 tn Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural (“words”).
  3. Psalm 119:105 tn Heb “[is] a lamp for my foot and a light for my path.”