Discovery BoxPsalms 119:48
Context119:48 I will lift my hands to 1 your commands,
which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
Psalms 119:113
Contextס (Samek)
119:113 I hate people with divided loyalties, 2
but I love your law.
Psalms 119:127
Context119:127 For this reason 3 I love your commands
more than gold, even purest gold.
Psalms 119:159
Context119:159 See how I love your precepts!
O Lord, revive me with your loyal love!
Psalms 119:165
Context119:165 Those who love your law are completely secure; 4
nothing causes them to stumble. 5
Psalms 119:167
Context119:167 I keep your rules;
I love them greatly.
[119:48] 1 tn Lifting the hands is often associated with prayer (Pss 28:2; 63:4; Lam 2:19). (1) Because praying to God’s law borders on the extreme, some prefer to emend the text to “I lift up my hands to you,” eliminating “your commands, which I love” as dittographic. In this view these words were accidentally repeated from the previous verse. (2) However, it is possible that the psalmist closely associates the law with God himself because he views the law as the expression of the divine will. (3) Another option is that “lifting the hands” does not refer to prayer here, but to the psalmist’s desire to receive and appropriate the law. (4) Still others understand this to be an action praising God’s commands (so NCV; cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).
[119:113] 2 tn Heb “divided ones.” The word occurs only here; it appears to be derived from a verbal root, attested in Arabic, meaning “to split” (see HALOT 762 s.v. *סֵעֵף). Since the psalmist is emphasizing his unswerving allegiance to God and his law, the term probably refers to those who lack such loyalty. The translation is similar to that suggested by L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 131.
[119:127] 3 tn “For this reason” connects logically with the statement made in v. 126. Because the judgment the psalmist fears (see vv. 119-120) is imminent, he remains loyal to God’s law.
[119:165] 4 tn Heb “great peace [is] to the lovers of your law.”
