119:118 You despise 1 all who stray from your statutes,
for they are deceptive and unreliable. 2
119:119 You remove all the wicked of the earth like slag. 3
Therefore I love your rules. 4
1 tn The Hebrew verb סָלָה (salah, “to disdain”) occurs only here and in Lam 1:15. Cognate usage in Aramaic and Akkadian, as well as Lam 1:15, suggest it may have a concrete nuance of “to throw away.”
2 tn Heb “for their deceit [is] falsehood.”
3 sn Traditionally “dross” (so KJV, ASV, NIV). The metaphor comes from metallurgy; “slag” is the substance left over after the metallic ore has been refined.
4 sn As he explains in the next verse, the psalmist’s fear of judgment motivates him to obey God’s rules.