Psalm 119:1-40

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Psalm 119:1 tn The psalmist celebrates God’s law and the guidance it provides his people. He expresses his desire to know God’s law thoroughly so that he might experience the blessings that come to those who obey it. This lengthy psalm exhibits an elaborate acrostic pattern. The psalm is divided into twenty-two sections (corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each of which is comprised of eight verses. Each of the verses in the first section (vv. 1-8) begins with the letter alef (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This pattern continues throughout the psalm as each new section highlights a successive letter of the alphabet. Each verse in section two (vv. 9-16) begins with the second letter of the alphabet, each verse in section three (vv. 17-24) with the third letter, etc. This rigid pattern creates a sense of order and completeness and may have facilitated memorization.
2. Psalm 119:1 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”
3. Psalm 119:1 tn Heb “walk in.”
4. Psalm 119:3 tn Heb “walk in his ways.”
5. Psalm 119:4 tn Heb “you, you commanded your precepts, to keep, very much.”
6. Psalm 119:5 tn Heb “if only my ways were established.”
7. Psalm 119:6 tn Or “when.”
8. Psalm 119:6 tn Heb “I gaze at.”
9. Psalm 119:7 tn Heb “I will give you thanks with an upright heart.”
10. Psalm 119:8 tn Heb “do not abandon me to excess.” For other uses of the phrase עַד מְאֹד (ʿad m^eʾod, “to excess”), see Ps 38:6, 8.
11. Psalm 119:9 tn Heb “young man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender specific “young man” has been translated with the more neutral “young person.”
12. Psalm 119:9 tn Heb “purify his path.”
13. Psalm 119:9 tn Heb “by keeping according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX read the plural, “your words.”
14. Psalm 119:11 tn Or “hide.”
15. Psalm 119:11 tn Heb “your word.” Some medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX read the plural, “your words.”
16. Psalm 119:12 tn Heb “[are] blessed.”
17. Psalm 119:13 tn Heb “of your mouth.”
18. Psalm 119:14 tn Heb “in the way of your rules.”
19. Psalm 119:14 tn Heb “as upon,” meaning “as if” (see 2 Chr 32:19).
20. Psalm 119:14 tn Heb “all wealth.” The phrase refers to all kinds of wealth and riches. See Prov 1:13; 6:31; 24:4; Ezek 27:12, 18.
21. Psalm 119:15 tn The cohortative verbal forms in this verse express the psalmist’s resolve.
22. Psalm 119:15 tn Heb “gaze [at].”
23. Psalm 119:15 tn Heb “ways” (referring figuratively to God’s behavior here).
24. Psalm 119:16 tn The imperfects in this verse emphasize the attitude the psalmist maintains toward God’s law. Another option is to translate with the future tense, “I will find delight…I will not forget.”
25. Psalm 119:16 tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX read the plural here.
26. Psalm 119:17 tn The prefixed verbal form is probably a cohortative indicating purpose/result after the preceding imperative.
27. Psalm 119:17 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the imperative that begins the verse.
28. Psalm 119:17 tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss as well as several ancient versions read the plural here.
29. Psalm 119:18 tn Heb “uncover.” The verb form גַּל (gal) is an apocopated Piel imperative from גָּלָה (galah, see GKC 214 §75.cc).
30. Psalm 119:18 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.
31. Psalm 119:19 sn Heb This metaphor probably derives from Lev 25:23, which uses the terms גֵּר (ger, “resident foreigner”) and תּוֹשָׁב; (toshav, “resident/temporary settler”). Lev 25:23 emphasizes that Israel would be a guest on God’s land. They were attached to the Lord’s household; they did not own the land. Cf. also Ps 39:12 and Gen 23:4.
32. Psalm 119:20 tn Heb “my soul languishes for longing for.”
33. Psalm 119:21 tn Heb “accursed.” The traditional punctuation of the Hebrew text takes “accursed” with the previous line (“arrogant, accursed ones”), but it is preferable to take it with the second line as the predicate of the statement.
34. Psalm 119:22 tn Heb “roll away from upon me.” Some derive the imperatival form גַּל (gal) from גָּלָה (galah, “uncover,” as in v. 18), but here the form is from גָּלַל (galal, “roll”; see Josh 5:9, where חֶרְפָּה [kherpah, “shame; reproach”] also appears as object of the verb). Some, following the lead of a Dead Sea scroll (11QPs^a), emend the form to גֹּל (gol).
35. Psalm 119:23 tn Heb “though rulers sit, about me they talk together.” (For another example of the Niphal of דָּבַר (davar) used with a suffixed form of the preposition ב (bet), see Ezek 33:30.)
36. Psalm 119:24 tn Heb “men of my counsel.” That is, God’s rules are like advisers to the psalmist, for they teach him how to live in a godly manner that refutes the accusations of his enemies.
37. Psalm 119:25 tn Heb “my soul clings to the dirt.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “being; soul”) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
38. Psalm 119:25 tn Heb “according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural “your words.”
39. Psalm 119:26 tn Heb “my ways I proclaimed.”
40. Psalm 119:27 tn Heb “the way of your precepts make me understand.”
41. Psalm 119:27 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.
42. Psalm 119:27 tn Heb “your amazing things,” which refers here to the teachings of the law (see v. 18).
43. Psalm 119:28 tn Some translate “my soul weeps,” taking the verb דָלַף (dalaf) from a root meaning “to drip; to drop” (BDB 196 s.v. דֶּלַף). On the basis of cognate evidence from Arabic and Akkadian, HALOT 223 s.v. II דלף proposes a homonymic root here, meaning “be sleepless.” Following L. C. Allen (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 127, 135) the translation assumes that the verb is cognate with Ugaritic dlp, “to collapse; to crumple” in CTA 2 iv. 17, 26. See G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 44, 144.
44. Psalm 119:28 tn Heb “according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural “your words.”
45. Psalm 119:29 tn The “path of deceit” refers to a lifestyle characterized by deceit and disloyalty to God. It stands in contrast to the “way of faithfulness” in v. 30.
46. Psalm 119:29 tn Heb “be gracious to me.” The verb is used metonymically here for “graciously giving” the law. (See Gen 33:5, where Jacob uses this verb in describing how God had graciously given him children.)
47. Psalm 119:30 tn BDB 1000-1001 s.v. I שָׁוָה derives the verb from the first homonym listed, meaning “to agree with; to be like; to resemble.” It here means (in the Piel stem) “to be accounted suitable,” which in turn would mean by metonymy “to accept; to be committed to.” Some prefer to derive the verb from a homonym meaning “to place; to set,” but in this case an elliptical prepositional phrase must be understood, “I place your regulations [before me]” (see Ps 16:8).
48. Psalm 119:31 tn Or “cling to.”
49. Psalm 119:32 tn Heb “for you make wide my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s volition and understanding. The Lord gives the psalmist the desire and moral understanding that are foundational to the willing obedience depicted metaphorically in the preceding line. In Isa 60:5 the expression “your heart will be wide” means “your heart will swell with pride,” but here the nuance appears to be different.
50. Psalm 119:33 tn Heb “the way of your statutes.”
51. Psalm 119:33 tn Heb “and I will keep it to the end.” The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative. The Hebrew term עֵקֶב (ʿeqev) is understood to mean “end” here. Another option is to take עֵקֶב as meaning “reward” here (see Ps 19:11) and to translate, “so that I might observe it and be rewarded.”
52. Psalm 119:34 tn The two prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose/result after the introductory imperative.
53. Psalm 119:35 tn Or “make me walk.”
54. Psalm 119:35 tn Heb “for in it I delight.”
55. Psalm 119:36 tn Heb “turn my heart to your rules.”
56. Psalm 119:36 tn Heb “and not unjust gain.”
57. Psalm 119:37 tn Heb “Make my eyes pass by from looking at what is worthless.”
58. Psalm 119:37 tn Heb “by your word.”
59. Psalm 119:38 tn Heb “word.”
60. Psalm 119:38 tn Heb “which [is] for your fear,” that is, the promise made to those who exhibit fear of God.
61. Psalm 119:39 tn Heb “my reproach that I fear.”
62. Psalm 119:39 tn Or “for.”
63. Psalm 119:40 tn Or “righteousness.”