Mazmur 119:17-32

ג (Gimel)

119:17 Be kind to your servant!

Then I will live ¹  and keep ²  your instructions. ³ 

119:18 Open ⁴  my eyes so I can truly see ⁵ 

the marvelous things in your law!

119:19 I am like a foreigner in this land. ⁶ 

Do not hide your commands from me!

119:20 I desperately long to know ⁷ 

your regulations at all times.

119:21 You reprimand arrogant people.

Those who stray from your commands are doomed. ⁸ 

119:22 Spare me ⁹  shame and humiliation,

for I observe your rules.

119:23 Though rulers plot and slander me, ¹⁰ 

your servant meditates on your statutes.

119:24 Yes, I find delight in your rules;

they give me guidance. ¹¹ 

ד (Dalet)

119:25 I collapse in the dirt. ¹² 

Revive me with your word! ¹³ 

119:26 I told you about my ways ¹⁴  and you answered me.

Teach me your statutes!

119:27 Help me to understand what your precepts mean! ¹⁵ 

Then I can meditate ¹⁶  on your marvelous teachings. ¹⁷ 

119:28 I collapse ¹⁸  from grief.

Sustain me by your word! ¹⁹ 

119:29 Remove me from the path of deceit! ²⁰ 

Graciously give me ²¹  your law!

119:30 I choose the path of faithfulness;

I am committed to ²²  your regulations.

119:31 I hold fast ²³  to your rules.

O Lord, do not let me be ashamed!

119:32 I run along the path of your commands,

for you enable me to do so. ²⁴ 

[119:17]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is probably a cohortative indicating purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:17]  ² tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the imperative that begins the verse.

[119:17]  ³ tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss as well as several ancient versions read the plural here.

[119:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “uncover.” The verb form גַּל (gal) is an apocopated Piel imperative from גָּלָה (galah, see GKC 214 §75.cc).

[119:18]  ⁵ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “I am a resident alien in the land.” Resident aliens were especially vulnerable and in need of help. They needed to know the social and legal customs of the land to avoid getting into trouble. The translation (note the addition of “like”) assumes the psalmist is speaking metaphorically, not literally.

[119:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “my soul languishes for longing for.”

[119:21]  ⁸ 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.

[119:22]  ⁹ 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).

[119:23]  ¹⁰ 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, see Ezek 33:30.)

[119:24]  ¹¹ 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.

[119:25]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural “your words.”

[119:26]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my ways I proclaimed.”

[119:27]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the way of your precepts make me understand.”

[119:27]  ¹⁶ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[119:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “your amazing things,” which refers here to the teachings of the law (see v. 18).

[119:28]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural “your words.”

[119:29]  ²⁰ 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.

[119:29]  ²¹ 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.)

[119:30]  ²² 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).

[119:31]  ²³ tn Or “cling to.”

[119:32]  ²⁴ 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.