119:176 I have wandered off like a lost sheep. 1
Come looking for your servant,
for I do not forget your commands.
א (Alef)
119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, 3
who obey 4 the law of the Lord.
24:9 Look up, you gates!
Rise up, you eternal doors!
Then the majestic king will enter!
26:9 Do not sweep me away 5 with sinners,
or execute me along with violent people, 6
26:10 who are always ready to do wrong 7
or offer a bribe. 8
26:11 But I have integrity! 9
Rescue me 10 and have mercy on me!
24:29 Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me;
I will pay him back 11 according to what he has done.” 12
1 tn Heb “I stray like a lost sheep.” It is possible that the point of the metaphor is vulnerability: The psalmist, who is threatened by his enemies, feels as vulnerable as a straying, lost sheep. This would not suggest, however, that he has wandered from God’s path (see the second half of the verse, as well as v. 110).
2 sn Psalm 119. The psalmist celebrates God’s law and the guidance it provides his people. He expresses his desire to know God’s law thoroughly so that he might experience the blessings that come to those who obey it. This lengthy psalm exhibits an elaborate acrostic pattern. The psalm is divided into twenty-two sections (corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each of which is comprised of eight verses. Each of the verses in the first section (vv. 1-8) begins with the letter alef (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This pattern continues throughout the psalm as each new section highlights a successive letter of the alphabet. Each verse in section two (vv. 9-16) begins with the second letter of the alphabet, each verse in section three (vv. 17-24) with the third letter, etc. This rigid pattern creates a sense of order and completeness and may have facilitated memorization.
3 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”
4 tn Heb “walk in.”
5 tn Heb “do not gather up my life with.”
6 tn Heb “or with men of bloodshed my life.” The verb is supplied; it is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).
7 tn Heb “who [have] in their hands evil.”
8 tn Heb “and their right hand is full of a bribe.”
9 tn Heb “and I in my integrity walk.” The psalmist uses the imperfect verbal form to emphasize this is his practice. The construction at the beginning of the verse (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist and the sinners mentioned in vv. 9-10.
10 tn Or “redeem me.”
11 tn Heb “repay to the man.” The verb is שׁוּב (shuv), which in the Hiphil stem means “to restore; to repay; to return” (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT “I’ll get even”). The idea is that of repaying someone for what he did.
12 sn Rather than give in to the spirit of vengeance, one should avoid retaliation (e.g., Prov 20:22; Matt 5:43-45; Rom 12:9). According to the Talmud, Hillel said, “Do not do to others what you would not have them do unto you” (b. Sanhedrin 31a).
13 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.
14 tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic and refers to both men and women.
15 tn Grk “the wrath,” referring to God’s wrath as the remainder of the verse shows.
16 sn A quotation from Deut 32:35.
17 sn A quotation from Prov 25:21-22.