119:51 Arrogant people do nothing but scoff at me. 1
Yet I do not turn aside from your law.
119:61 The ropes of the wicked tighten around 2 me,
but I do not forget your law.
א (Alef)
119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, 4
who obey 5 the law of the Lord.
24:6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor,
Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him. 6 (Selah)
24:7 Look up, 7 you gates!
Rise up, 8 you eternal doors!
Then the majestic king 9 will enter! 10
26:9 Do not sweep me away 11 with sinners,
or execute me along with violent people, 12
By David.
26:1 Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have integrity, 14
and I trust in the Lord without wavering.
1 tn Heb “scoff at me to excess.”
2 tn Heb “surround.”
3 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.
4 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”
5 tn Heb “walk in.”
6 tn Heb “this [is the] generation of the ones seeking him, the ones seeking your face, Jacob.” To “seek the
7 tn Heb “lift up your heads.” The gates of the Lord’s dwelling place are here personified. The idiom “lift up the head” often means “be confident, bold” (see Judg 8:28; Job 10:15; Ps 83:2; Zech 1:21).
8 tn Heb “lift yourselves up.”
9 tn Or “king of glory.”
10 tn Following the imperatives of the preceding lines, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.
11 tn Heb “do not gather up my life with.”
12 tn Heb “or with men of bloodshed my life.” The verb is supplied; it is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).
13 sn Psalm 26. The author invites the Lord to test his integrity, asserts his innocence and declares his loyalty to God.
14 tn Heb “for I in my integrity walk.”