119:11 In my heart I store up 1 your words, 2
so I might not sin against you.
119:16 I find delight 3 in your statutes;
I do not forget your instructions. 4
119:34 Give me understanding so that I might observe your law,
and keep it with all my heart. 5
119:47 I will find delight in your commands,
which I love.
119:48 I will lift my hands to 6 your commands,
which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
1 tn Or “hide.”
2 tn Heb “your word.” Some medieval Hebrew
3 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.”
4 tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew
5 tn The two prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive indicate purpose/result after the introductory imperative.
6 tn Lifting the hands is often associated with prayer (Pss 28:2; 63:4; Lam 2:19). (1) Because praying to God’s law borders on the extreme, some prefer to emend the text to “I lift up my hands to you,” eliminating “your commands, which I love” as dittographic. In this view these words were accidentally repeated from the previous verse. (2) However, it is possible that the psalmist closely associates the law with God himself because he views the law as the expression of the divine will. (3) Another option is that “lifting the hands” does not refer to prayer here, but to the psalmist’s desire to receive and appropriate the law. (4) Still others understand this to be an action praising God’s commands (so NCV; cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).