Mazmur 119:25

ד (Dalet)

119:25 I collapse in the dirt. ¹ 

Revive me with your word! ² 

Mazmur 119:28

119:28 I collapse ³  from grief.

Sustain me by your word! ⁴ 

Mazmur 119:89

ל (Lamed)

119:89 O Lord, your instructions endure;

they stand secure in heaven. ⁵ 

Mazmur 119:103

119:103 Your words are sweeter

in my mouth than honey! ⁶ 

Mazmur 119:139

119:139 My zeal ⁷  consumes ⁸  me,

for my enemies forget your instructions. ⁹ 

[119:25]  ¹ 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).

[119:25]  ² tn Heb “according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural “your words.”

[119:28]  ³ 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.

[119:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural “your words.”

[119:89]  ⁵ 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.”

[119:103]  ⁶ 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.”

[119:139]  ⁷ tn or “zeal.”

[119:139]  ⁸ tn Heb “destroys,” in a hyperbolic sense.

[119:139]  ⁹ tn Heb “your words.”