Psalms 119:171-176

119:171 May praise flow freely from my lips,

for you teach me your statutes.

119:172 May my tongue sing about your instructions, ¹ 

for all your commands are just.

119:173 May your hand help me,

for I choose to obey ²  your precepts.

119:174 I long for your deliverance, O Lord;

I find delight in your law.

119:175 May I ³  live and praise you!

May your regulations help me! ⁴ 

119:176 I have wandered off like a lost sheep. ⁵ 

Come looking for your servant,

for I do not forget your commands.

[119:172]  ¹ tn Heb “your word.”

[119:173]  ² tn The words “to obey” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

[119:175]  ³ tn Heb “my life.”

[119:175]  ⁴ tn God’s regulations will “help” the psalmist by giving him moral and ethical guidance.

[119:176]  ⁵ 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).