Psalms 119:9

ב (Bet)

119:9 How can a young person ¹  maintain a pure life? ² 

By guarding it according to your instructions! ³ 

Psalms 119:57

ח (Khet)

119:57 The Lord is my source of security. ⁴ 

I have determined ⁵  to follow your instructions. ⁶ 

¹ tn Heb “young man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender specific “young man” has been translated with the more neutral “young person.”

² tn Heb “purify his path.”

³ tn Heb “by keeping according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX read the plural, “your words.”

⁴ tn Heb “my portion [is] the Lord.” The psalmist compares the Lord to landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel (see Ps 16:5).

⁵ tn Heb “I said.”

⁶ tn Heb “to keep your words” (see v. 9).