Psalms 119: What the Passage Says

The Chapter in a Sentence

This is the longest psalm: 176 verses arranged in 22 sections of 8 verses each, with all eight verses in a section beginning with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet, taken in order. Nearly every verse says something about what God has spoken, using a rotating set of words for it. The speaker asks over and over for understanding, for life, and for rescue, while describing proud rulers, liars, and wicked people who hunt him and ignore the law. He states throughout that he loves the law and has not turned from it, even while suffering.

Claim by Claim

1. 119:1
   • Those who are blameless in their way are blessed.
   • The blameless walk in the law of the LORD.
2. 119:2
   • Those who keep his testimonies are blessed.
   • Those who seek him with the whole heart are blessed.
3. 119:3
   • They do no wrongdoing.
   • They walk in his ways.
4. 119:4
   • God commanded his precepts.
   • The precepts were commanded to be kept diligently.
5. 119:5
   • The speaker wishes his ways were made firm to keep God's statutes.
6. 119:6
   • The speaker says he would not be ashamed when he looks at all God's commandments.
7. 119:7
   • The speaker will praise God with uprightness of heart.
   • The speaker will praise God when he has learned God's righteous judgments.
8. 119:8
   • The speaker will keep God's statutes.
   • The speaker asks God not to forsake him utterly.
9. 119:9
   • The speaker asks by what means a young man can keep his way pure.
   • The answer is by guarding it according to God's word.
10. 119:10
    • The speaker has sought God with his whole heart.
    • The speaker asks God not to let him stray from God's commandments.
11. 119:11
    • The speaker has stored God's word in his heart.
    • The speaker did this so that he would not sin against God.
12. 119:12
    • God is blessed.
    • The speaker asks God to teach him his statutes.
13. 119:13
    • The speaker has declared with his lips all the judgments of God's mouth.
14. 119:14
    • The speaker has rejoiced in the way of God's testimonies.
    • That rejoicing is as great as rejoicing over all riches.
15. 119:15
    • The speaker will meditate on God's precepts.
    • The speaker will look upon God's paths.
16. 119:16
    • The speaker will delight himself in God's statutes.
    • The speaker will not forget God's word.
17. 119:17
    • The speaker asks God to deal bountifully with his servant.
    • The speaker asks this so that he may live.
    • The speaker asks this so that he may keep God's word.
18. 119:18
    • The speaker asks God to open his eyes.
    • The speaker asks this so that he may see wondrous things out of God's law.
19. 119:19
    • The speaker is a sojourner in the earth.
    • The speaker asks God not to hide his commandments from him.
20. 119:20
    • The speaker's soul is crushed with longing for God's judgments.
    • This longing is at all times.
21. 119:21
    • God has rebuked the arrogant, who are cursed.
    • The arrogant stray from God's commandments.
22. 119:22
    • The speaker asks God to remove reproach and contempt from him.
    • The speaker has kept God's testimonies.
23. 119:23
    • Princes sat and spoke against the speaker.
    • God's servant meditated on God's statutes.
24. 119:24
    • God's testimonies are the speaker's delight.
    • God's testimonies are the speaker's counselors.
25. 119:25
    • The speaker's soul clings to the dust.
    • The speaker asks God to revive him according to God's word.
26. 119:26
    • The speaker declared his ways.
    • God answered the speaker.
    • The speaker asks God to teach him his statutes.
27. 119:27
    • The speaker asks God to make him understand the way of God's precepts.
    • The speaker will then meditate on God's wondrous works.
28. 119:28
    • The speaker's soul weeps from grief.
    • The speaker asks God to strengthen him according to God's word.
29. 119:29
    • The speaker asks God to remove the way of falsehood from him.
    • The speaker asks God to grant him his law graciously.
30. 119:30
    • The speaker has chosen the way of faithfulness.
    • The speaker has set God's judgments before him.
31. 119:31
    • The speaker has clung to God's testimonies.
    • The speaker asks the LORD not to put him to shame.
32. 119:32
    • The speaker will run the way of God's commandments.
    • God will enlarge the speaker's heart.
33. 119:33
    • The speaker asks the LORD to teach him the way of his statutes.
    • The speaker will keep it to the end.
34. 119:34
    • The speaker asks God to give him understanding.
    • The speaker will then keep God's law.
    • The speaker will observe it with his whole heart.
35. 119:35
    • The speaker asks God to make him walk in the path of his commandments.
    • The speaker delights in that path.
36. 119:36
    • The speaker asks God to incline his heart to God's testimonies.
    • The speaker asks that his heart not be inclined to unjust gain.
37. 119:37
    • The speaker asks God to turn his eyes from looking at worthless things.
    • The speaker asks God to revive him in God's way.
38. 119:38
    • The speaker asks God to establish his word to his servant.
    • That word is for the fear of God.
39. 119:39
    • The speaker asks God to turn away the reproach he dreads.
    • God's judgments are good.
40. 119:40
    • The speaker has longed for God's precepts.
    • The speaker asks God to revive him in God's righteousness.
41. 119:41
    • The speaker asks that God's acts of steadfast love come to him.
    • The speaker asks that God's salvation come to him.
    • This is according to God's word.
42. 119:42
    • The speaker will then have an answer for the one who reproaches him.
    • The speaker trusts in God's word.
43. 119:43
    • The speaker asks God not to take the word of truth utterly out of his mouth.
    • The speaker has hoped in God's judgments.
44. 119:44
    • The speaker will keep God's law continually.
    • The speaker will keep it forever and ever.
45. 119:45
    • The speaker will walk in a broad place.
    • The speaker has sought God's precepts.
46. 119:46
    • The speaker will speak of God's testimonies before kings.
    • The speaker will not be ashamed.
47. 119:47
    • The speaker will delight himself in God's commandments.
    • The speaker has loved God's commandments.
48. 119:48
    • The speaker will lift up his hands to God's commandments.
    • The speaker has loved God's commandments.
    • The speaker will meditate on God's statutes.
49. 119:49
    • The speaker asks God to remember the word to his servant.
    • God caused the speaker to hope on that word.
50. 119:50
    • This is the speaker's comfort in his affliction.
    • God's word has given the speaker life.
51. 119:51
    • The arrogant have derided the speaker greatly.
    • The speaker has not turned aside from God's law.
52. 119:52
    • The speaker remembered God's judgments of old.
    • The speaker comforted himself.
53. 119:53
    • Burning indignation has seized the speaker.
    • This is because of the wicked who forsake God's law.
54. 119:54
    • God's statutes have been songs to the speaker.
    • This is in the house of the speaker's sojourning.
55. 119:55
    • The speaker has remembered the LORD's name in the night.
    • The speaker has kept God's law.
56. 119:56
    • This has been the speaker's.
    • The speaker has kept God's precepts.
57. 119:57
    • The LORD is the speaker's portion.
    • The speaker said he would keep God's words.
58. 119:58
    • The speaker entreated God's face with his whole heart.
    • The speaker asks God to be gracious to him according to God's word.
59. 119:59
    • The speaker considered his ways.
    • The speaker turned his feet to God's testimonies.
60. 119:60
    • The speaker hurried.
    • The speaker did not delay.
    • This was to keep God's commandments.
61. 119:61
    • The cords of the wicked have encircled the speaker.
    • The speaker has not forgotten God's law.
62. 119:62
    • The speaker rises at midnight to give thanks to God.
    • This is because of God's righteous judgments.
63. 119:63
    • The speaker is a companion of all who fear God.
    • The speaker is a companion of those who keep God's precepts.
64. 119:64
    • The earth is full of the LORD's steadfast love.
    • The speaker asks God to teach him his statutes.
65. 119:65
    • The LORD has dealt well with his servant.
    • This was according to God's word.
66. 119:66
    • The speaker asks God to teach him good discernment and knowledge.
    • The speaker has believed in God's commandments.
67. 119:67
    • Before he was afflicted the speaker went astray.
    • Now the speaker has kept God's word.
68. 119:68
    • God is good.
    • God does good.
    • The speaker asks God to teach him his statutes.
69. 119:69
    • The arrogant have smeared the speaker with a lie.
    • The speaker will keep God's precepts with his whole heart.
70. 119:70
    • Their heart is gross like fat.
    • The speaker delights in God's law.
71. 119:71
    • It is good for the speaker that he was afflicted.
    • The purpose was that he might learn God's statutes.
72. 119:72
    • The law of God's mouth is better to the speaker than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
73. 119:73
    • God's hands made the speaker.
    • God's hands established the speaker.
    • The speaker asks God to give him understanding.
    • The speaker asks this so that he may learn God's commandments.
74. 119:74
    • Those who fear God will see the speaker and be glad.
    • The speaker has hoped in God's word.
75. 119:75
    • The speaker knows that the LORD's judgments are righteous.
    • The speaker knows that God afflicted him in faithfulness.
76. 119:76
    • The speaker asks that God's steadfast love comfort him.
    • This is according to God's word to his servant.
77. 119:77
    • The speaker asks that God's compassions come to him.
    • The speaker asks this so that he may live.
    • God's law is the speaker's delight.
78. 119:78
    • The speaker asks that the arrogant be put to shame.
    • The arrogant wronged the speaker with falsehood.
    • The speaker will meditate on God's precepts.
79. 119:79
    • The speaker asks that those who fear God turn to him.
    • Those who know God's testimonies should turn to him.
80. 119:80
    • The speaker asks that his heart be blameless in God's statutes.
    • The purpose is that he not be put to shame.
81. 119:81
    • The speaker's soul faints for God's salvation.
    • The speaker hopes in God's word.
82. 119:82
    • The speaker's eyes fail looking for God's word.
    • The speaker asks when God will comfort him.
83. 119:83
    • The speaker has become like a wineskin in smoke.
    • The speaker has not forgotten God's statutes.
84. 119:84
    • The speaker asks how many the days of God's servant are.
    • The speaker asks when God will execute judgment on his persecutors.
85. 119:85
    • The arrogant have dug pits for the speaker.
    • This is not according to God's law.
86. 119:86
    • All God's commandments are faithful.
    • They persecute the speaker with falsehood.
    • The speaker asks God to help him.
87. 119:87
    • They almost finished the speaker off in the land.
    • The speaker did not forsake God's precepts.
88. 119:88
    • The speaker asks God to revive him according to God's steadfast love.
    • The speaker will then keep the testimony of God's mouth.
89. 119:89
    • The LORD's word is forever.
    • God's word is fixed in the heavens.
90. 119:90
    • God's faithfulness is to all generations.
    • God established the earth.
    • The earth stands.
91. 119:91
    • They stand this day according to God's ordinances.
    • All things are God's servants.
92. 119:92
    • If God's law had not been the speaker's delight, he would have perished in his affliction.
93. 119:93
    • The speaker will never forget God's precepts.
    • By them God has given the speaker life.
94. 119:94
    • The speaker belongs to God.
    • The speaker asks God to save him.
    • The speaker has sought God's precepts.
95. 119:95
    • The wicked have waited for the speaker to destroy him.
    • The speaker will consider God's testimonies.
96. 119:96
    • The speaker has seen an end to all perfection.
    • God's commandment is exceedingly broad.
97. 119:97
    • The speaker loves God's law greatly.
    • God's law is the speaker's meditation all the day.
98. 119:98
    • God's commandments make the speaker wiser than his enemies.
    • God's commandments are always with the speaker.
99. 119:99
    • The speaker has more insight than all his teachers.
    • God's testimonies are the speaker's meditation.
100. 119:100
     • The speaker understands more than the elders.
     • The speaker has kept God's precepts.
101. 119:101
     • The speaker has withheld his feet from every evil path.
     • The purpose was that he might keep God's word.
102. 119:102
     • The speaker has not departed from God's judgments.
     • God himself has taught the speaker.
103. 119:103
     • God's words are sweet to the speaker's palate.
     • They are sweeter than honey to the speaker's mouth.
104. 119:104
     • The speaker gains understanding from God's precepts.
     • Therefore the speaker hates every false path.
105. 119:105
     • God's word is a lamp to the speaker's feet.
     • God's word is a light to the speaker's path.
106. 119:106
     • The speaker has sworn an oath.
     • The speaker has confirmed it.
     • The oath is to keep God's righteous judgments.
107. 119:107
     • The speaker is afflicted very much.
     • The speaker asks the LORD to revive him according to God's word.
108. 119:108
     • The speaker asks the LORD to accept the freewill offerings of his mouth.
     • The speaker asks God to teach him his judgments.
109. 119:109
     • The speaker's life is continually in his hand.
     • The speaker has not forgotten God's law.
110. 119:110
     • The wicked have set a snare for the speaker.
     • The speaker has not strayed from God's precepts.
111. 119:111
     • The speaker has taken God's testimonies as an inheritance forever.
     • They are the joy of the speaker's heart.
112. 119:112
     • The speaker has inclined his heart to perform God's statutes.
     • This is forever, to the end.
113. 119:113
     • The speaker hates the double-minded.
     • The speaker loves God's law.
114. 119:114
     • God is the speaker's hiding place.
     • God is the speaker's shield.
     • The speaker hopes in God's word.
115. 119:115
     • The speaker tells evildoers to depart from him.
     • The speaker will keep the commandments of his God.
116. 119:116
     • The speaker asks God to uphold him according to God's word.
     • The speaker asks this so that he may live.
     • The speaker asks not to be put to shame in his hope.
117. 119:117
     • The speaker asks God to support him.
     • The speaker will then be saved.
     • The speaker will regard God's statutes continually.
118. 119:118
     • God has cast aside all who stray from his statutes.
     • Their deceit is falsehood.
119. 119:119
     • God has put away all the wicked of the earth like dross.
     • Therefore the speaker loves God's testimonies.
120. 119:120
     • The speaker's flesh bristles from dread of God.
     • The speaker is afraid of God's judgments.
121. 119:121
     • The speaker has done judgment and righteousness.
     • The speaker asks God not to leave him to his oppressors.
122. 119:122
     • The speaker asks God to be surety for his servant for good.
     • The speaker asks that the arrogant not oppress him.
123. 119:123
     • The speaker's eyes fail looking for God's salvation.
     • The speaker's eyes fail looking for the word of God's righteousness.
124. 119:124
     • The speaker asks God to deal with his servant according to his steadfast love.
     • The speaker asks God to teach him his statutes.
125. 119:125
     • The speaker is God's servant.
     • The speaker asks God to give him understanding.
     • The speaker asks this so that he may know God's testimonies.
126. 119:126
     • It is time for the LORD to act.
     • They have broken God's law.
127. 119:127
     • Therefore the speaker loves God's commandments more than gold.
     • The speaker loves them more than fine gold.
128. 119:128
     • Therefore the speaker holds all God's precepts concerning all things to be right.
     • The speaker hates every false path.
129. 119:129
     • God's testimonies are wonderful.
     • Therefore the speaker's soul keeps them.
130. 119:130
     • The opening of God's words gives light.
     • It gives understanding to the simple.
131. 119:131
     • The speaker opened his mouth wide and panted.
     • The speaker longed for God's commandments.
132. 119:132
     • The speaker asks God to turn to him.
     • The speaker asks God to be gracious to him.
     • This is according to God's custom toward those who love his name.
133. 119:133
     • The speaker asks God to make his steps firm by God's word.
     • The speaker asks that no iniquity rule over him.
134. 119:134
     • The speaker asks God to redeem him from the oppression of man.
     • The speaker will then keep God's precepts.
135. 119:135
     • The speaker asks God to make his face shine on his servant.
     • The speaker asks God to teach him his statutes.
136. 119:136
     • Streams of water run down the speaker's eyes.
     • This is because God's law is not kept.
137. 119:137
     • The LORD is righteous.
     • God's judgments are upright.
138. 119:138
     • God commanded his testimonies in righteousness.
     • God commanded them in great faithfulness.
139. 119:139
     • The speaker's zeal has consumed him.
     • This is because his adversaries have forgotten God's words.
140. 119:140
     • God's word is thoroughly refined.
     • God's servant loves it.
141. 119:141
     • The speaker is small and despised.
     • The speaker has not forgotten God's precepts.
142. 119:142
     • God's righteousness is righteousness forever.
     • God's law is truth.
143. 119:143
     • Trouble and distress have found the speaker.
     • God's commandments are the speaker's delight.
144. 119:144
     • God's testimonies are righteous forever.
     • The speaker asks God to give him understanding.
     • The speaker asks this so that he may live.
145. 119:145
     • The speaker cried with his whole heart.
     • The speaker asks the LORD to answer him.
     • The speaker will keep God's statutes.
146. 119:146
     • The speaker cried to God.
     • The speaker asks God to save him.
     • The speaker will then keep God's testimonies.
147. 119:147
     • The speaker rose before the dawn and cried out.
     • The speaker hoped in God's word.
148. 119:148
     • The speaker's eyes anticipated the night watches.
     • The purpose was to meditate on God's word.
149. 119:149
     • The speaker asks God to hear his voice according to his steadfast love.
     • The speaker asks the LORD to revive him according to his judgment.
150. 119:150
     • Those who pursue wickedness have drawn near.
     • They are far from God's law.
151. 119:151
     • The LORD is near.
     • All God's commandments are truth.
152. 119:152
     • The speaker has known of old from God's testimonies.
     • God founded them forever.
153. 119:153
     • The speaker asks God to see his affliction.
     • The speaker asks God to deliver him.
     • The speaker has not forgotten God's law.
154. 119:154
     • The speaker asks God to plead his cause.
     • The speaker asks God to redeem him.
     • The speaker asks God to revive him according to God's word.
155. 119:155
     • Salvation is far from the wicked.
     • The wicked do not seek God's statutes.
156. 119:156
     • The LORD's compassions are many.
     • The speaker asks God to revive him according to his judgments.
157. 119:157
     • The speaker's persecutors and adversaries are many.
     • The speaker has not turned aside from God's testimonies.
158. 119:158
     • The speaker saw the treacherous and was grieved.
     • They did not keep God's word.
159. 119:159
     • The speaker asks God to see how he loves God's precepts.
     • The speaker asks the LORD to revive him according to his steadfast love.
160. 119:160
     • The sum of God's word is truth.
     • Every one of God's righteous judgments endures forever.
161. 119:161
     • Princes have persecuted the speaker without cause.
     • The speaker's heart stands in awe of God's word.
162. 119:162
     • The speaker rejoices at God's word.
     • He rejoices like one who finds great spoil.
163. 119:163
     • The speaker hates and abhors falsehood.
     • The speaker loves God's law.
164. 119:164
     • The speaker praises God seven times a day.
     • This is because of God's righteous judgments.
165. 119:165
     • Those who love God's law have great peace.
     • Nothing causes them to stumble.
166. 119:166
     • The speaker has hoped for the LORD's salvation.
     • The speaker has done God's commandments.
167. 119:167
     • The speaker's soul has kept God's testimonies.
     • The speaker loves them exceedingly.
168. 119:168
     • The speaker has kept God's precepts and testimonies.
     • All the speaker's ways are before God.
169. 119:169
     • The speaker asks that his cry come near before the LORD.
     • The speaker asks God to give him understanding according to his word.
170. 119:170
     • The speaker asks that his supplication come before God.
     • The speaker asks God to deliver him according to his word.
171. 119:171
     • The speaker's lips will pour forth praise.
     • This is because God teaches him his statutes.
172. 119:172
     • The speaker's tongue will sing of God's word.
     • All God's commandments are righteousness.
173. 119:173
     • The speaker asks that God's hand help him.
     • The speaker has chosen God's precepts.
174. 119:174
     • The speaker has longed for the LORD's salvation.
     • God's law is the speaker's delight.
175. 119:175
     • The speaker asks that his soul live and praise God.
     • The speaker asks that God's judgments help him.
176. 119:176
     • The speaker has gone astray like a lost sheep.
     • The speaker asks God to seek his servant.
     • The speaker has not forgotten God's commandments.

Words Worth Explaining

Every language note in this chapter, gathered. These explain what a word meant, never what it means for the reader.

119:1

In Hebrew this psalm is an alphabet poem. It has twenty-two stanzas of eight verses each, one stanza for every letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and within a stanza every one of the eight verses begins with that letter. Older Bibles print the letter names (Aleph, Beth, Gimel, and so on) as headings. The form explains why the psalm is so long and so repetitive: it is a deliberate exercise in saying everything about one subject, from A to Z. "Blessed" here translates a Hebrew word closer to "happy" or "fortunate": it is a congratulation on someone's good position, not a blessing being pronounced over them.

119:2

Almost every verse of this psalm uses one of eight near-synonyms for what God has made known: law, testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, judgments, word, and promise. They are not eight different things; the poet is turning one subject over and over. "Testimonies" translates a word for things solemnly declared and set down as binding, the terms a witness testifies to, or the terms of an agreement kept on record.

119:3

The King James says "iniquity." That is an old word for doing wrong on purpose.

119:4

"Precepts" means instructions or orders given by someone with the right to give them.

119:5

The Hebrew word behind "statutes" comes from carving or engraving. These are rules cut in to stay.

119:6

In 1611, "have respect unto" meant to look hard at something. It did not mean being polite.

119:7

"Judgments" translates a word meaning decisions handed down, both God's verdicts in particular cases and the body of case law given to Israel. It has the flavor of a courtroom ruling, not of a general principle.

119:9

"Wherewithal" is an old word. It just means "how" or "with what."

119:11

Very few people owned a copy of anything written. Scrolls were costly and rare, so learning words by heart was the normal way to keep them.

119:12

LORD printed in capitals stands in for the personal name of Israel's God, written in Hebrew with four letters usually given as YHWH. Jewish readers avoided pronouncing it and said the ordinary word for "Lord" instead; English Bibles mark that substitution with capitals. Note also that "blessed" here is a different Hebrew word from the one in verse 1: this one means "praised," spoken toward God, while verse 1's meant "fortunate," spoken about a person.

119:13

"Judgments" here does not mean punishments. It means God's decisions about what is right and wrong.

119:14

There was no paper money then. Being rich meant having gold, silver, sheep, and land.

119:15

To "meditate" here is not sitting in silence. The Hebrew word means to mutter or say something over and over quietly, the way people learned things aloud.

119:17

"Deal bountifully" means be very generous with someone.

119:19

A "stranger" here is a resident foreigner, someone living long-term in a country not his own, holding no inherited land and depending on the goodwill of the people around him. It was a recognized legal status in Israel, with its own protections.

119:20

"Soul" throughout this psalm translates a Hebrew word meaning the life, the appetite, the whole living person, not an immaterial part housed inside a body. "My soul" is close to "I myself," with a hint of hunger or craving.

119:21

To be "cursed" is to be placed formally under a curse, the exact opposite of the congratulation "happy are they" in verses 1 and 2. The two words frame the psalm's two kinds of people.

119:22

"Reproach" means being shamed and blamed out loud, in front of others. In a village where everyone knew everyone, losing your good name did real damage.

119:23

"Princes" here means officials and nobles, the men who held power at court and in the courts. Being denounced by them was not gossip but a threat to a person's standing, property and safety.

119:24

Counselors were the officials a ruler was expected to consult before acting; their advice carried formal weight. The psalmist is putting God's declarations in that official role.

119:25

"Quicken," used many times in this psalm, is old English for "make alive" or "revive", nothing to do with speed. To lie or cling to the dust is an idiom for being brought as low as a person can go: mourners sat in dust and ashes, and the dust is also where the dead lie.

119:28

"Heaviness" in the King James means deep sadness.

119:32

"Heart" in Hebrew means the mind, will and inner self, the place where a person thinks and decides, rather than the feelings. To have it "enlarged" is to be given room, understanding, or courage; the phrase is open to all three senses.

119:33

"Unto the end" translates a Hebrew word whose sense is disputed. It can mean "to the very end," "always," or "as a reward", the same word and the same uncertainty recur in verse 112.

119:36

"Covetousness" translates a word for gain got by grasping, profit, especially the dishonest or violent kind, rather than desire in general.

119:37

"Vanity" in the King James does not mean being proud of how you look. It means empty, worthless things that come to nothing.

119:38

"Fear" of God in this psalm means awe and reverence, the attitude owed to someone of overwhelming importance, not fright. The second half of the verse is ambiguous in Hebrew: it may mean "confirm your promise to your servant, who reveres you," or "confirm your promise, so that you may be revered."

119:41

"Mercies" translates the Hebrew word chesed, elsewhere rendered lovingkindness or steadfast love. It means loyal, committed kindness, the sort owed within a binding relationship and kept up over time, rather than a passing feeling of pity.

119:45

The Hebrew reads "I will walk in a broad place." Wide open ground is the standard image for freedom and safety; being hemmed in or in a narrow place is the image for distress.

119:46

Speaking up in front of a king was risky. A king could punish anyone who said something he did not want to hear.

119:48

Lifting the hands was the ordinary bodily posture for prayer, appeal, and swearing an oath. It is startling here because the hands are lifted toward the commandments rather than toward God.

119:50

Several verses in this psalm (here, and 38, 41, 58, 76, 82, 116, 140, 162, 170) use a Hebrew word meaning "saying" or "utterance," which in context often carries the sense of a specific promise. The KJV renders it "word" throughout, which flattens the difference.

119:51

"Derision" means laughing at someone on purpose to hurt them.

119:53

The Hebrew word here means a scorching or raging heat, and translators divide over which way it burns: some read horror or dread, others blazing indignation.

119:54

"The house of my pilgrimage" means the place where he is lodging as a temporary resident, living away from home, as a foreigner does, rather than traveling to a shrine. "Pilgrimage" in 1611 English meant a sojourn abroad.

119:55

Nights were very dark then. There were no electric lights. Lying awake, he thought about God.

119:56

The Hebrew is very compressed (literally "this has been mine") and it is not clear what "this" points to: the comfort just described, the whole way of life, or something the following verses will name.

119:57

A "portion" was the share of land assigned to a family when Israel divided the country. The tribe of Levi received no such share and was told that the LORD himself was their portion instead. To say "you are my portion" is to name God as the inheritance one holds in place of property.

119:58

The Hebrew literally says he tried to soften God's face. It is the picture of begging a powerful person to smile on you.

119:61

The Hebrew word can mean either "cords", ropes that bind him, or "bands" in the sense of companies of men. Both readings are current; the KJV takes the second, most modern translations the first.

119:62

Getting up at midnight to pray was not a normal practice; the point is the deliberate interruption of sleep.

119:63

"Them that fear thee" is a standard Hebrew phrase for the devout, people who take God seriously, with no implication of being frightened of him.

119:66

"Good judgment" means knowing how to make wise choices.

119:67

"Went astray" means wandered off, the way a sheep does.

119:69

In the King James, to "forge" a lie means to make one up. The Hebrew pictures lies being smeared over someone, like mud.

119:70

"Fat as grease" is an idiom, not a comment on weight: a thick layer of fat makes flesh dull and insensible, so a fat heart is an unfeeling, unresponsive one.

119:72

Coined money did not yet exist. Gold and silver were weighed out in units, and "thousands" means thousands of those weights, an enormous fortune.

119:73

"Fashioned me" means shaped me, the way a potter shapes wet clay with his hands.

119:76

"Lovingkindness" stands for one Hebrew word. It means love that keeps its promise and never quits.

119:78

"Without a cause" is a legal expression: accused or attacked with no ground for the charge, not merely for no reason.

119:81

"Fainteth" means so tired and weak that you might fall down.

119:82

"Mine eyes fail" means his eyes ache from looking and looking for help.

119:83

The "bottle" is a wineskin, a whole animal hide sewn up and used as a container. Houses were heated and lit by open fires with no chimney, so a skin left hanging in the smoke dried out, shrivelled and cracked, and was fit for nothing.

119:84

The question is deliberately double-edged: it can mean "how long do I have left to live?" and "how much longer must I wait?" The Hebrew allows both.

119:85

Pits were dug and covered over to trap large animals. The image carries over into legal language for laying a trap for a person.

119:87

"Consumed me" means they nearly finished him off.

119:89

"Settled" here means fixed and standing firm, like a post driven in or a building set on its foundation, not "decided" or "paid off."

119:91

"Ordinances" is one more word for God's rules. It means the way he set things up to work.

119:94

"I am thine" means "I belong to you."

119:96

This verse is famously difficult in Hebrew and every translation is a guess. The general sense is that everything complete or perfect has a boundary he has been able to see to the edge of, while the commandment has none.

119:100

"The ancients" means the elders, the old men whose years of experience gave their opinion authority in disputes and public decisions.

119:103

Honey was the strongest sweetener available and the standard comparison for the most desirable thing imaginable.

119:105

The lamp is a small clay dish of oil with a floating wick, carried in the hand. It does not light up the road ahead; it lights the ground immediately at your feet, enough for the next step.

119:106

An oath called God as witness against the person swearing it, and breaking one carried real consequences. It is a formal, binding act, not a strong statement of intent.

119:108

A freewill offering was a voluntary sacrifice, over and above anything the law required, brought simply because the worshiper wanted to bring it. He is offering spoken praise in place of the animal.

119:109

"My life is in my hand" is a fixed Hebrew idiom for running a constant risk of death, carrying your life out in the open palm where anything might knock it away.

119:110

A snare was a hidden loop of cord used to catch birds and small animals by the foot.

119:111

"Heritage" translates the word for a family's allotted land, inherited from ancestors and meant to stay in the family permanently rather than being sold off. It is a legal term for a permanent, inalienable holding.

119:113

The Hebrew word occurs nowhere else, and its meaning is uncertain. Most take it to mean divided or half-hearted, either people of two minds or thoughts pulled two ways, but the sense of "vain, empty thoughts" is also defended.

119:114

A shield was a big piece of wood or leather. A soldier held it up to stop arrows and swords.

119:118

The last clause is obscure in Hebrew. It may mean that their deceit is itself a lie, or that their deceiving comes to nothing in the end.

119:119

Dross is the crust of worthless impurities that rises to the top when metal is melted for refining; it is skimmed off and thrown away.

119:120

"Flesh" here means the body, and by extension the whole physical, mortal self, the same use as in "flesh and blood."

119:122

"Be surety" is a commercial and legal term: to stand as guarantor for another person's debt, becoming liable yourself if they cannot pay. He is asking God to underwrite him.

119:126

"Made void" means annulled or canceled, as one voids a contract. The Hebrew of the first half can also be read "it is time to act for the LORD," leaving it slightly open whether God or the psalmist is the one who should act.

119:127

"Fine gold" is gold that has been melted and cleaned of everything else. It was the most valuable kind.

119:130

"The entrance of thy words" translates a word meaning an opening or unfolding, the words being disclosed rather than a doorway. "The simple" means the untaught and inexperienced, easily led either way; it is a description of a stage of life, not an insult about intelligence.

119:131

The picture is an animal panting with its mouth open, desperate for water.

119:132

"As thou usest to do" is 1611 English for "as is your habit" or "as you customarily do." A person's "name" in Hebrew stands for the person himself and his reputation, so loving God's name means loving him as he has made himself known.

119:133

"Dominion" means power to rule over someone and boss them around.

119:135

"Make thy face to shine upon" comes from the priestly blessing given in Numbers 6. A face turned toward you and lit up means attention and favor; the opposite image, a face hidden or turned away, means rejection.

119:136

"Rivers of waters run down mine eyes" means he cries and cries and cannot stop.

119:139

"Zeal" translates a word for burning heat, the fierce, jealous energy of someone who cannot bear to see what he loves slighted. "Consumed me" means it has eaten him up, exhausted him.

119:140

"Pure" here is a metalworking term: refined in the fire and proved free of any impurity. The image is of a promise that has been tested rather than merely clean.

119:141

"Small" means low in standing (young, insignificant, of no account in other people's eyes), rather than small in size.

119:143

"Anguish" is a tight, hurting feeling deep inside you.

119:147

"Prevent" in 1611 English means to go before or get there first, with none of the modern sense of stopping something. He is up and praying before daylight.

119:148

The night was divided into watches, fixed shifts for those standing guard, three in older Israelite practice, later four under the Romans. To be awake ahead of the watches means lying awake before each new shift even begins.

119:150

"Mischief" in 1611 English means deliberate harm or wickedness, serious injury done on purpose, not petty trouble-making.

119:154

Both verbs are legal. "Plead my cause" means to argue someone's case for them as their advocate in court. "Deliver" translates the verb used of the kinsman-redeemer, the nearest relative obliged to buy a family member out of debt or slavery, recover sold family land, or pursue their killer.

119:158

"Transgressors" translates a word for those who break faith, people who betray an agreement or deal treacherously, rather than lawbreakers in general.

119:160

The Hebrew reads "the head of your word is truth," and "head" can mean either the beginning or the sum total. So the line may mean "your word has been true from the first" or "the whole of your word is truth"; both readings are defensible.

119:162

"Spoil" means plunder taken in war and divided among the victors, a sudden windfall far beyond what a soldier could earn.

119:164

Seven regularly functions in Hebrew as the number of completeness. The line may describe a fixed pattern of daily prayer, or may simply mean "continually."

119:165

"Offend" here has its older sense of "cause to stumble"; the underlying image is an obstacle in the road that trips a walker up.

119:170

A "supplication" is a humble request, the kind you make when you have no power and can only ask.

119:176

Sheep wander off without meaning to and cannot find the way back. The shepherd has to go out and search. Everyone who first heard this had watched it happen.