119:54 Your statutes have been my songs 1
in the house where I live. 2
119:55 I remember your name during the night, O Lord,
and I will keep 3 your law.
119:56 This 4 has been my practice,
for I observe your precepts.
1 tn Heb “songs were your statutes to me.”
2 tn Heb “in the house of my dwelling place.” Some take the Hebrew noun מָגוֹר (magor) in the sense of “temporary abode,” and see this as a reference to the psalmist’s status as a resident alien (see v. 19). But the noun can refer to a dwelling place in general (see Ps 55:15).
3 tn The cohortative verbal form expresses the psalmist’s resolve to obey the law.
4 tn Heb “this has been to me.” The demonstrative “this” (1) refers back to the practices mentioned in vv. 54-55, or (2) looks forward to the statement in the second line, in which case the כִּי (ki) at the beginning of the second line should be translated “that.”