Mazmur 119:89-104

ל (Lamed)

119:89 O Lord, your instructions endure;

they stand secure in heaven. ¹ 

119:90 You demonstrate your faithfulness to all generations. ² 

You established the earth and it stood firm.

119:91 Today they stand firm by your decrees,

for all things are your servants.

119:92 If I had not found encouragement in your law, ³ 

I would have died in my sorrow. ⁴ 

119:93 I will never forget your precepts,

for by them you have revived me.

119:94 I belong to you. Deliver me!

For I seek your precepts.

119:95 The wicked prepare to kill me, ⁵ 

yet I concentrate on your rules.

119:96 I realize that everything has its limits,

but your commands are beyond full comprehension. ⁶ 

מ (Mem)

119:97 O how I love your law!

All day long I meditate on it.

119:98 Your commandments ⁷  make me wiser than my enemies,

for I am always aware of them.

119:99 I have more insight than all my teachers,

for I meditate on your rules.

119:100 I am more discerning than those older than I,

for I observe your precepts.

119:101 I stay away ⁸  from the evil path,

so that I might keep your instructions. ⁹ 

119:102 I do not turn aside from your regulations,

for you teach me.

119:103 Your words are sweeter

in my mouth than honey! ¹⁰ 

119:104 Your precepts give me discernment.

Therefore I hate all deceitful actions. ¹¹ 

[119:89]  ¹ tn Heb “Forever, O Lord, your word stands firm in heaven,” or “Forever, O Lord, [is] your word; it stands firm in heaven.” The translation assumes that “your word” refers here to the body of divine instructions contained in the law (note the frequent references to the law in vv. 92-96). See vv. 9, 16-17, 57, 101, 105, 130, 139 and 160-61. The reference in v. 86 to God’s law being faithful favors this interpretation. Another option is that “your word” refers to God’s assuring word of promise, mentioned in vv. 25, 28, 42, 65, 74, 81, 107, 114, 147 and 169. In this case one might translate, “O Lord, your promise is reliable, it stands firm in heaven.”

[119:90]  ² tn Heb “to a generation and a generation [is] your faithfulness.”

[119:92]  ³ tn Heb “if your law had not been my delight.”

[119:92]  ⁴ tn Or “my suffering.”

[119:95]  ⁵ tn Heb “the wicked wait for me to kill me.”

[119:96]  ⁶ tn Heb “to every perfection I have seen an end, your command is very wide.” God’s law is beyond full comprehension, which is why the psalmist continually studies it (vv. 95, 97).

[119:98]  ⁷ tn The plural form needs to be revocalized as a singular in order to agree with the preceding singular verb and the singular pronoun in the next line. The Lord’s “command” refers here to the law (see Ps 19:8).

[119:101]  ⁸ tn Heb “I hold back my feet.”

[119:101]  ⁹ tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural.

[119:103]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “How smooth they are to my palate, your word, more than honey to my mouth.” A few medieval Hebrew mss, as well as several other ancient witnesses, read the plural “your words,” which can then be understood as the subject of the plural verb “they are smooth.”

[119:104]  ¹¹ tn Heb “every false path.”