The longest chapter in the Bible, 176 verses on one subject, and an alphabetical acrostic built to be recited in pieces rather than read straight through. That is how the widespread custom works of saying the stanzas that spell a person's name at a grave or on a yahrzeit. For a learner it is the best vocabulary drill in the book: eight nouns and a short list of imperatives come back verse after verse, so the fiftieth verse costs a fraction of the first. Start with the nun stanza and its best known line, דְבָרֶךָ (dva-re-cha, v.105), a lamp for my feet.
1
אַשְׁרֵי תְמִימֵי דָרֶךְ
הַהֹלְכִים בְּתוֹרַת יְהֹוָה
תְמִימֵי
tmi-MEI
the blameless of
Happy are those blameless of way,
הַהֹלְכִים
ha-hol-CHIM
those who walk
בְּתוֹרַת
be-to-RAT
in the teaching of
who walk in the teaching of the LORD.
Opens the alef stanza, and the psalm, with a beatitude instead of a petition. The term is torah, teaching, and the claim is about conduct: blameless in the way, and walking.
2
אַשְׁרֵי נֹצְרֵי עֵדֹתָיו
בְּכׇל לֵב יִדְרְשׁוּהוּ
נֹצְרֵי
notz-REI
the keepers of
עֵדֹתָיו
e-do-TAV
His testimonies
Happy are those who keep His testimonies,
יִדְרְשׁוּהוּ
yid-re-shu-HU
they seek Him
who seek Him with a whole heart.
The second beatitude narrows the first. Testimonies, edut, are what is kept, and the seeking is whole hearted, which brings in lev, heart, a word that runs through the whole stanza.
3
אַף לֹא פָעֲלוּ עַוְלָה
בִּדְרָכָיו הָלָכוּ
פָעֲלוּ
fa-a-LU
they have done
Indeed they have done no wrongdoing;
בִּדְרָכָיו
bid-ra-CHAV
in His ways
הָלָכוּ
ha-la-CHU
they have walked
they have walked in His ways.
Stated first as a negative, then as a positive: nothing crooked done, His ways walked. The one verse of the stanza that names none of the eight terms for Torah, only two verbs of behaviour.
4
אַתָּה צִוִּיתָה פִקֻּדֶיךָ
לִשְׁמֹר מְאֹד
צִוִּיתָה
tzi-vi-TA
have commanded
פִקֻּדֶיךָ
fi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
You Yourself have commanded Your precepts,
The first direct address to God. Precepts, pikudim, appear for the first time, and the adverb me'od makes the keeping strict rather than approximate.
5
אַחֲלַי יִכֹּנוּ דְרָכָי
לִשְׁמֹר חֻקֶּיךָ
יִכֹּנוּ
yi-ko-NU
they were made firm
If only my ways were made firm,
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
to keep Your statutes.
The first wish in the psalm. Statutes, chukim, arrive here, and what is wished for is not divine action but that the speaker's own ways would hold steady.
6
אָז לֹא אֵבוֹשׁ
בְּהַבִּיטִי אֶל כׇּל מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
אֵבוֹשׁ
e-VOSH
I would be ashamed
Then I would not be ashamed,
בְּהַבִּיטִי
be-ha-bi-TI
when I look
מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
mitz-o-tei-CHA
Your commandments
when I look at all Your commandments.
Draws the consequence of the wish in verse 5. Commandments, mitzvot, and the condition attached is looking at all of them, not at a chosen few.
7
אוֹדְךָ בְּיֹשֶׁר לֵבָב
בְּלׇמְדִי מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ
אוֹדְךָ
od-CHA
I will thank You
בְּיֹשֶׁר
BYO-sher
with uprightness of
I will thank You with an upright heart,
בְּלׇמְדִי
blom-DI
when I learn
מִשְׁפְּטֵי
mish-PTEI
the judgments of
צִדְקֶךָ
tzid-ke-CHA
Your righteousness
when I learn Your righteous judgments.
A vow of thanks made conditional on study. The term is mishpatim, judgments, and learning them is what is expected to make the heart upright in the first place.
8
אֶת חֻקֶּיךָ אֶשְׁמֹר
אַל תַּעַזְבֵנִי עַד מְאֹד
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
אֶשְׁמֹר
esh-MOR
I will keep
I will keep Your statutes;
תַּעַזְבֵנִי
ta-az-ve-NI
abandon me
do not abandon me utterly.
Closes the alef stanza by setting a promise beside a plea. Statutes again, and the first imperative the psalm addresses to God is a negative one: do not leave.
9
בַּמֶּה יְזַכֶּה נַּעַר אֶת אׇרְחוֹ
לִשְׁמֹר כִּדְבָרֶךָ
יְזַכֶּה
ye-za-KE
shall he keep pure
By what shall a young man keep his path pure?
לִשְׁמֹר
lish-MOR
by keeping
כִּדְבָרֶךָ
kid-va-re-CHA
according to Your word
By keeping it according to Your word.
Opens bet with the only real question in the slice, and answers it in the same breath. The term is davar, word, and the subject is a na'ar, a young man, not the speaker.
10
בְּכׇל לִבִּי דְרַשְׁתִּיךָ
אַל תַּשְׁגֵּנִי מִמִּצְוֺתֶיךָ
דְרַשְׁתִּיךָ
de-rash-ti-CHA
I have sought You
With all my heart I have sought You;
תַּשְׁגֵּנִי
tash-ge-NI
let me stray
מִמִּצְוֺתֶיךָ
mi-mitz-o-tei-CHA
from Your commandments
do not let me stray from Your commandments.
Takes the whole hearted seeking of verse 2 out of the third person and into the first, then adds what verse 2 did not have: a plea against going off course.
11
בְּלִבִּי צָפַנְתִּי אִמְרָתֶךָ
לְמַעַן לֹא אֶחֱטָא לָךְ
בְּלִבִּי
bli-BI
in my heart
צָפַנְתִּי
tza-fan-TI
I have stored
אִמְרָתֶךָ
im-ra-te-CHA
Your saying
In my heart I have stored Your saying,
אֶחֱטָא
e-che-TA
I will sin
so that I would not sin against You.
The term is imrah, the spoken promise, and tzafanti is the verb used for hiding treasure away. The purpose clause states the aim without ornament: not to sin.
12
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה
לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ
לַמְּדֵנִי
lam-de-NI
teach me
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
teach me Your statutes.
A liturgical blessing formula drops into the acrostic, followed by a request of two words. Statutes, and lamdeni, teach me, which the psalm will ask again and again.
13
בִּשְׂפָתַי סִפַּרְתִּי
כֹּל מִשְׁפְּטֵי פִיךָ
בִּשְׂפָתַי
bis-fa-TAI
with my lips
סִפַּרְתִּי
si-par-TI
I have recounted
With my lips I have recounted
מִשְׁפְּטֵי
mish-PTEI
the judgments of
all the judgments of Your mouth.
The mirror of verse 11: what was stored inside the heart is now spoken out loud. Judgments, mishpatim, and they are located at Your mouth rather than in a book.
14
בְּדֶרֶךְ עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ שַּׂשְׂתִּי
כְּעַל כׇּל הוֹן
בְּדֶרֶךְ
bde-RECH
in the way of
עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ
ed-o-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
שַּׂשְׂתִּי
sas-TI
I have rejoiced
In the way of Your testimonies I have rejoiced,
as much as over all wealth.
Delight measured in money. Testimonies, and the comparison with all wealth is the first of several places where the psalm prices Torah against property.
15
בְּפִקּוּדֶיךָ אָשִׂיחָה
וְאַבִּיטָה אֹרְחֹתֶיךָ
בְּפִקּוּדֶיךָ
be-fi-ku-dei-CHA
on Your precepts
אָשִׂיחָה
a-si-CHA
let me meditate
On Your precepts let me meditate,
וְאַבִּיטָה
ve-a-bi-TA
and let me gaze at
אֹרְחֹתֶיךָ
or-cho-tei-CHA
Your paths
and let me look hard at Your paths.
Four words, the shortest verse in the slice, and both of its verbs are verbs of attention rather than action. Precepts paired with paths, thought paired with looking.
16
בְּחֻקֹּתֶיךָ אֶשְׁתַּעֲשָׁע
לֹא אֶשְׁכַּח דְּבָרֶךָ
בְּחֻקֹּתֶיךָ
be-chu-ko-tei-CHA
in Your statutes
אֶשְׁתַּעֲשָׁע
esh-ta-a-SHA
I will delight myself
In Your statutes I will take delight;
אֶשְׁכַּח
esh-KACH
I will forget
דְּבָרֶךָ
dva-re-CHA
Your word
I will not forget Your word.
Closes bet by putting two terms in one verse, statutes and word. The verb eshta'asha is reflexive and built on a root of play, so the delight is something done to oneself.
17
גְּמֹל עַל עַבְדְּךָ אֶחְיֶה
וְאֶשְׁמְרָה דְבָרֶךָ
גְּמֹל
gmol
deal generously
עַבְדְּךָ
av-de-CHA
Your servant
אֶחְיֶה
ech-YE
that I may live
Deal generously with Your servant, that I may live,
וְאֶשְׁמְרָה
ve-esh-MRA
and I will keep
דְבָרֶךָ
dva-re-CHA
Your word
and I will keep Your word.
Opens gimel by asking for bounty so that living itself becomes possible. Word, davar, and the keeping of it is offered back as the return on the gift.
18
גַּל עֵינַי
וְאַבִּיטָה נִפְלָאוֹת מִתּוֹרָתֶךָ
וְאַבִּיטָה
ve-a-bi-TA
that I may gaze at
נִפְלָאוֹת
nif-la-OT
wonders
מִתּוֹרָתֶךָ
mi-to-ra-te-CHA
from Your teaching
that I may gaze at wonders out of Your teaching.
The plea is for sight, not for instruction. Torah is where the wonders already are, and gal, uncover, treats the obstacle as a covering over the reader rather than the text.
19
גֵּר אָנֹכִי בָאָרֶץ
אַל תַּסְתֵּר מִמֶּנִּי מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
בָאָרֶץ
va-A-retz
on the earth
I am a resident alien on the earth;
מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
mitz-o-tei-CHA
Your commandments
do not hide Your commandments from me.
States the speaker's legal status: a ger, a stranger with no land. Commandments are what such a person most needs and could most easily be denied, hence the plea.
20
גָּרְסָה נַפְשִׁי לְתַאֲבָה
אֶל מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ בְכׇל עֵת
גָּרְסָה
gar-SA
is worn through
לְתַאֲבָה
le-ta-a-VA
with longing
My soul is worn through with longing
מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ
mish-pa-tei-CHA
Your judgments
for Your judgments at every moment.
Desire described as physical wear on the body. Judgments, mishpatim, and the phrase at every time makes the longing continuous rather than occasional.
21
גָּעַרְתָּ זֵדִים אֲרוּרִים
הַשֹּׁגִים מִמִּצְוֺתֶיךָ
גָּעַרְתָּ
ga-ar-TA
You have rebuked
אֲרוּרִים
a-ru-RIM
accursed
You have rebuked the insolent, the accursed,
הַשֹּׁגִים
ha-sho-GIM
those who stray
מִמִּצְוֺתֶיךָ
mi-mitz-o-tei-CHA
from Your commandments
who stray from Your commandments.
The one verse of the stanza about other people. Straying from commandments is what makes the insolent accursed, and the rebuke is reported as something God has already done.
22
גַּל מֵעָלַי חֶרְפָּה וָבוּז
כִּי עֵדֹתֶיךָ נָצָרְתִּי
מֵעָלַי
me-a-LAI
from upon me
Roll scorn and contempt away from me,
עֵדֹתֶיךָ
e-do-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
נָצָרְתִּי
na-tzar-TI
I have kept
for I have kept Your testimonies.
Uses gal again, the verb of verse 18, now for rolling shame off rather than uncovering eyes. Testimonies, and the plea rests on the claim that they were kept.
23
גַּם יָשְׁבוּ שָׂרִים בִּי נִדְבָּרוּ
עַבְדְּךָ יָשִׂיחַ בְּחֻקֶּיךָ
נִדְבָּרוּ
nid-ba-RU
they spoke together
Even when princes sat and spoke against me,
עַבְדְּךָ
av-de-CHA
Your servant
יָשִׂיחַ
ya-SI-ach
meditates
בְּחֻקֶּיךָ
be-chu-kei-CHA
on Your statutes
Your servant kept meditating on Your statutes.
Eight words, the longest verse in the stanza, setting two scenes side by side: officials conspiring, and the speaker studying. No verb of complaint appears in either half.
24
גַּם עֵדֹתֶיךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי
אַנְשֵׁי עֲצָתִי
עֵדֹתֶיךָ
e-do-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי
sha-a-shu-AI
are my delight
Yes, Your testimonies are my delight,
אַנְשֵׁי
an-SHEI
the men of
עֲצָתִי
a-tza-TI
my counsel
the men of my counsel.
Closes gimel by calling testimonies both a delight and a body of advisers. Read against verse 23, the text replaces the princes as the counsel the speaker keeps.
25
דָּבְקָה לֶעָפָר נַפְשִׁי
חַיֵּנִי כִּדְבָרֶךָ
לֶעָפָר
le-a-FAR
to the dust
My soul clings to the dust;
חַיֵּנִי
cha-ye-NI
revive me
כִּדְבָרֶךָ
kid-va-re-CHA
according to Your word
revive me according to Your word.
Opens dalet at ground level, the soul stuck to the dirt. Word, davar, and chayeni, revive me, which becomes the recurring imperative of this stanza.
26
דְּרָכַי סִפַּרְתִּי וַתַּעֲנֵנִי
לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ
דְּרָכַי
de-ra-CHAI
my ways
סִפַּרְתִּי
si-par-TI
I recounted
וַתַּעֲנֵנִי
va-ta-a-ne-NI
and You answered me
I recounted my ways and You answered me;
לַמְּדֵנִי
lam-de-NI
teach me
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
teach me Your statutes.
A conversation has already taken place: I told, You answered. The request that follows is word for word the request of verse 12, now made on the strength of that answer.
27
דֶּרֶךְ פִּקּוּדֶיךָ הֲבִינֵנִי
וְאָשִׂיחָה בְּנִפְלְאוֹתֶיךָ
פִּקּוּדֶיךָ
pi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
הֲבִינֵנִי
ha-vi-ne-NI
make me understand
Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
וְאָשִׂיחָה
ve-a-si-CHA
and let me meditate
בְּנִפְלְאוֹתֶיךָ
bnif-le-o-tei-CHA
on Your wonders
and let me talk over Your wonders.
Understanding is asked for as the condition of speech, not as an end. Precepts, and the second verb is the asicha of verse 15, which covers both silent thought and talking.
28
דָּלְפָה נַפְשִׁי מִתּוּגָה
קַיְּמֵנִי כִּדְבָרֶךָ
מִתּוּגָה
mi-tu-GA
from grief
My soul drips away from grief;
קַיְּמֵנִי
kay-me-NI
stand me up
כִּדְבָרֶךָ
kid-va-re-CHA
according to Your word
stand me up again according to Your word.
The soul that clung in verse 25 now leaks away. Word again, but the imperative changes from revive me to kaymeni, put me back on my feet.
29
דֶּרֶךְ שֶׁקֶר הָסֵר מִמֶּנִּי
וְתוֹרָתְךָ חׇנֵּנִי
Take the way of falsehood away from me,
וְתוֹרָתְךָ
ve-to-rat-CHA
and with Your teaching
חׇנֵּנִי
cho-ne-NI
be gracious to me
and grace me with Your teaching.
The only petition in the stanza that asks for a removal. Falsehood is itself a derech, a way, and it is set against torah, which is asked for as a favour rather than earned.
30
דֶּרֶךְ אֱמוּנָה בָחָרְתִּי
מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ שִׁוִּיתִי
אֱמוּנָה
e-mu-NA
faithfulness
בָחָרְתִּי
va-char-TI
I have chosen
The way of faithfulness I have chosen;
מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ
mish-pa-tei-CHA
Your judgments
שִׁוִּיתִי
shi-vi-TI
I have set before me
Your judgments I have set before me.
The counterpart of verse 29: a way chosen rather than a way removed, and the choice is the speaker's own. Judgments, and shiviti places them permanently in view.
31
דָּבַקְתִּי בְעֵדְוֺתֶיךָ
יְהֹוָה אַל תְּבִישֵׁנִי
דָּבַקְתִּי
da-vak-TI
I have clung
בְעֵדְוֺתֶיךָ
ve-ed-o-tei-CHA
to Your testimonies
I have clung to Your testimonies;
תְּבִישֵׁנִי
te-vi-she-NI
put me to shame
LORD, do not put me to shame.
Takes davak, the clinging verb of verse 25, off the dust and attaches it to testimonies. The plea against shame answers the confidence of verse 6 from the other side.
32
דֶּרֶךְ מִצְוֺתֶיךָ אָרוּץ
כִּי תַרְחִיב לִבִּי
מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
mitz-o-tei-CHA
Your commandments
The way of Your commandments I will run,
תַרְחִיב
tar-CHIV
You widen
for You widen my heart.
Closes dalet by moving from walking to running. Commandments, and the reason given for the speed is not resolve but a heart that God makes roomy.
33
הוֹרֵנִי יְהֹוָה דֶּרֶךְ חֻקֶּיךָ
וְאֶצְּרֶנָּה עֵקֶב
הוֹרֵנִי
ho-re-NI
instruct me
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
Instruct me, LORD, in the way of Your statutes,
וְאֶצְּרֶנָּה
ve-etz-re-NA
and I will guard it
and I will guard it to the end.
Opens he, the stanza where every verse begins with an imperative aimed at God. Statutes, and ekev, a word for a heel or a consequence, is read here as right to the finish.
34
הֲבִינֵנִי וְאֶצְּרָה תוֹרָתֶךָ
וְאֶשְׁמְרֶנָּה בְכׇל לֵב
הֲבִינֵנִי
ha-vi-ne-NI
give me understanding
וְאֶצְּרָה
ve-etz-RA
and I will guard
תוֹרָתֶךָ
to-ra-te-CHA
Your teaching
Give me understanding, and I will guard Your teaching,
וְאֶשְׁמְרֶנָּה
ve-esh-mre-NA
and I will keep it
and I will keep it with a whole heart.
Understanding requested as the means of observance rather than as knowledge for its own sake. Torah here, and the whole heart of verse 2 returns as the measure of keeping.
35
הַדְרִיכֵנִי בִּנְתִיב מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
כִּי בוֹ חָפָצְתִּי
הַדְרִיכֵנִי
had-ri-che-NI
make me tread
בִּנְתִיב
bin-TIV
on the track of
מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
mitz-o-tei-CHA
Your commandments
Walk me along the track of Your commandments,
חָפָצְתִּי
cha-fatz-TI
I take pleasure
for in it I take pleasure.
The request is to be walked, not for strength to walk. Commandments, and the ground given is desire rather than duty, which is unusual for a petition of this kind.
36
הַט לִבִּי אֶל עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ
וְאַל אֶל בָּצַע
עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ
ed-o-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
Bend my heart toward Your testimonies,
and not toward unjust gain.
Asks God to turn the will itself, not the circumstances. Testimonies are set against betza, profit taken unfairly, which is the sharpest of the psalm's rival objects of desire.
37
הַעֲבֵר עֵינַי מֵרְאוֹת שָׁוְא
בִּדְרָכֶךָ חַיֵּנִי
מֵרְאוֹת
mer-OT
from seeing
Turn my eyes away from seeing what is empty;
בִּדְרָכֶךָ
bid-ra-che-CHA
in Your ways
חַיֵּנִי
cha-ye-NI
revive me
in Your ways revive me.
Eyes again, as in verse 18, but here to be turned away rather than uncovered. The first half names no term for Torah, only shav, emptiness, the thing not to be looked at.
38
הָקֵם לְעַבְדְּךָ אִמְרָתֶךָ
אֲשֶׁר לְיִרְאָתֶךָ
לְעַבְדְּךָ
le-av-de-CHA
for Your servant
אִמְרָתֶךָ
im-ra-te-CHA
Your saying
Make Your promise stand for Your servant,
לְיִרְאָתֶךָ
lyir-a-te-CHA
for the fear of You
the promise that leads to fear of You.
Imrah, the promise, is what should be made to stand. The relative clause is grammatically hard and is read in more than one way: the promise either belongs to the fear of God or produces it.
39
הַעֲבֵר חֶרְפָּתִי אֲשֶׁר יָגֹרְתִּי
כִּי מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ טוֹבִים
חֶרְפָּתִי
cher-pa-TI
my reproach
יָגֹרְתִּי
ya-gor-TI
I dread
Take away the reproach I dread,
מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ
mish-pa-tei-CHA
Your judgments
for Your judgments are good.
Repeats the imperative of verse 37, now aimed at reproach instead of at the eyes. Judgments are called good, and their goodness is offered as the reason the reproach should go.
40
הִנֵּה תָּאַבְתִּי לְפִקֻּדֶיךָ
בְּצִדְקָתְךָ חַיֵּנִי
תָּאַבְתִּי
ta-av-TI
I have longed
לְפִקֻּדֶיךָ
le-fi-ku-dei-CHA
for Your precepts
Look, I have longed for Your precepts;
בְּצִדְקָתְךָ
be-tzid-kat-CHA
by Your righteousness
חַיֵּנִי
cha-ye-NI
revive me
by Your righteousness revive me.
Closes he with the one verse of the stanza that does not open on an imperative. Precepts, and the revival is grounded in God's righteousness rather than in the speaker's longing.
41
וִיבֹאֻנִי חֲסָדֶךָ יְהֹוָה
תְּשׁוּעָתְךָ כְּאִמְרָתֶךָ
וִיבֹאֻנִי
vi-vo-u-NI
and let them come to me
חֲסָדֶךָ
cha-sa-de-CHA
Your acts of kindness
And let Your acts of kindness reach me, LORD,
תְּשׁוּעָתְךָ
tshu-at-CHA
Your rescue
כְּאִמְרָתֶךָ
ke-im-ra-te-CHA
according to Your promise
Your rescue, as You promised.
Opens vav, the stanza in which every verse begins with the conjunction and. What is asked for is kindness and rescue, and the yardstick given is imrah, the promise.
42
וְאֶעֱנֶה חֹרְפִי דָבָר
כִּי בָטַחְתִּי בִּדְבָרֶךָ
וְאֶעֱנֶה
ve-e-e-NE
and I will answer
חֹרְפִי
chor-FI
the one who taunts me
And I will have an answer for the one who taunts me,
בָטַחְתִּי
va-tach-TI
I have trusted
בִּדְבָרֶךָ
bid-va-re-CHA
in Your word
for I have trusted in Your word.
States the purpose of the rescue asked for in verse 41: something to say back. Davar appears twice, once as the answer given and once as the word relied on.
43
וְאַל תַּצֵּל מִפִּי דְבַר אֱמֶת
עַד מְאֹד
כִּי לְמִשְׁפָּטֶךָ יִחָלְתִּי
תַּצֵּל
ta-TZEL
snatch away
And do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth,
לְמִשְׁפָּטֶךָ
le-mish-pa-te-CHA
for Your judgment
יִחָלְתִּי
yi-chal-TI
I have waited
for I have waited for Your judgment.
Ten words, the longest verse in the slice. It continues the speech of verse 42 by asking that the true word not be taken out of the mouth, with judgment as the thing waited on.
44
וְאֶשְׁמְרָה תוֹרָתְךָ תָמִיד
לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד
וְאֶשְׁמְרָה
ve-esh-MRA
and I will keep
תוֹרָתְךָ
to-rat-CHA
Your teaching
And I will keep Your teaching continually,
Answers verse 43 with a vow of permanence. Torah, and three separate time words stacked in five, so the sentence ends on duration rather than on content.
45
וְאֶתְהַלְּכָה בָרְחָבָה
כִּי פִקֻּדֶיךָ דָרָשְׁתִּי
וְאֶתְהַלְּכָה
ve-et-hal-CHA
and let me walk about
בָרְחָבָה
var-cha-VA
in the wide place
And let me walk about in open ground,
פִקֻּדֶיךָ
fi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
דָרָשְׁתִּי
da-rash-TI
I have sought
for I have sought out Your precepts.
Freedom is stated as a physical space. The cohortative asks for room to walk, and the ground given for it is that the speaker went looking for the precepts. Constraint and openness turn out to be the same thing.
46
וַאֲדַבְּרָה בְעֵדֹתֶיךָ נֶגֶד מְלָכִים
וְלֹא אֵבוֹשׁ
וַאֲדַבְּרָה
va-a-dab-RA
and let me speak
בְעֵדֹתֶיךָ
ve-e-do-tei-CHA
of Your testimonies
And let me speak of Your testimonies before kings,
אֵבוֹשׁ
e-VOSH
will I be ashamed
and I will not be ashamed.
The only verse in this stretch that puts the speaker in a royal court. Testimonies are the word chosen because they are meant to be said out loud, and the risk named is shame rather than danger.
47
וְאֶשְׁתַּעֲשַׁע בְּמִצְוֺתֶיךָ
אֲשֶׁר אָהָבְתִּי
וְאֶשְׁתַּעֲשַׁע
ve-esh-ta-A-sha
and let me take delight
בְּמִצְוֺתֶיךָ
be-mitz-o-tei-CHA
in Your commandments
And let me take delight in Your commandments,
אָהָבְתִּי
a-hav-TI
I have loved
which I have loved.
The verb is a reflexive of the root for play, and it will come back at 70 and 77. Commandments are loved here before they are obeyed, which reverses the expected order.
48
וְאֶשָּׂא כַפַּי אֶל מִצְוֺתֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר אָהָבְתִּי
וְאָשִׂיחָה בְחֻקֶּיךָ
וְאֶשָּׂא
ve-e-SA
and let me lift
מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
mitz-o-tei-CHA
Your commandments
אָהָבְתִּי
a-hav-TI
I have loved
And let me lift my palms toward Your commandments, which I have loved,
וְאָשִׂיחָה
ve-a-si-CHA
and let me meditate
בְחֻקֶּיךָ
ve-chu-kei-CHA
on Your statutes
and let me meditate on Your statutes.
A gesture of prayer redirected: the open hands go up toward the commandments rather than toward heaven. The second half drops from loving to studying, and the closing word of the vav stanza is statutes.
49
זְכֹר דָּבָר לְעַבְדֶּךָ
עַל אֲשֶׁר יִחַלְתָּנִי
לְעַבְדֶּךָ
le-av-de-CHA
to Your servant
Remember the word to Your servant,
יִחַלְתָּנִי
yi-chal-ta-NI
You have made me hope
because You have made me hope.
Zayin opens by turning the psalm's own verb of memory back on God. The claim made is deliberately small: the hope being appealed to was God's doing in the first place.
50
זֹאת נֶחָמָתִי בְעׇנְיִי
כִּי אִמְרָתְךָ חִיָּתְנִי
נֶחָמָתִי
ne-cha-ma-TI
is my comfort
בְעׇנְיִי
ve-on-YI
in my affliction
This is my comfort in my affliction,
אִמְרָתְךָ
im-rat-CHA
Your promise
חִיָּתְנִי
chi-yat-NI
has kept me alive
that Your promise has kept me alive.
The psalm's recurring plea, give me life, appears here in the past tense: it has already happened. Affliction is named before the comfort rather than after it.
51
זֵדִים הֱלִיצֻנִי עַד מְאֹד
מִתּוֹרָתְךָ לֹא נָטִיתִי
הֱלִיצֻנִי
he-li-tzu-NI
have mocked me
The arrogant have mocked me to the utmost;
מִתּוֹרָתְךָ
mi-to-rat-CHA
from Your Torah
נָטִיתִי
na-ti-TI
have I turned aside
from Your Torah I have not turned aside.
The opposition finally gets a name, zedim, and it returns at 69, 78 and 85. Their weapon is ridicule, and the answer is a verb of geometry: no deviation from the line.
52
זָכַרְתִּי מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ מֵעוֹלָם
יְהֹוָה וָאֶתְנֶחָם
זָכַרְתִּי
za-char-TI
I have remembered
מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ
mish-pa-tei-CHA
Your judgments
מֵעוֹלָם
me-o-LAM
from of old
I have remembered Your judgments from of old,
וָאֶתְנֶחָם
va-et-ne-CHAM
and I took comfort
O LORD, and I took comfort.
Old rulings, not new ones. Comfort is drawn from precedent here: what God has judged before is the evidence that the present case will be judged too.
53
זַלְעָפָה אֲחָזַתְנִי
מֵרְשָׁעִים עֹזְבֵי תּוֹרָתֶךָ
זַלְעָפָה
zal-a-FA
raging heat
אֲחָזַתְנִי
a-cha-zat-NI
has seized me
Raging heat has seized me,
מֵרְשָׁעִים
mer-sha-IM
from the wicked
עֹזְבֵי
oz-VEI
those who abandon
תּוֹרָתֶךָ
to-ra-te-CHA
Your Torah
because of the wicked who abandon Your Torah.
A rare noun for burning rage, and it is aimed at people rather than at circumstances. The anger is on God's behalf, a different posture from the complaints elsewhere in the psalm.
54
זְמִרוֹת הָיוּ לִי חֻקֶּיךָ
בְּבֵית מְגוּרָי
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
Songs is what Your statutes have been to me,
בְּבֵית
be-VEIT
in the house of
מְגוּרָי
me-gu-RAI
my sojournings
in the house of my sojournings.
Statutes set to music. A house of sojournings is a traveller's temporary lodging, so the law becomes the thing carried rather than the thing left behind at home.
55
זָכַרְתִּי בַלַּיְלָה שִׁמְךָ יְהֹוָה
וָאֶשְׁמְרָה תּוֹרָתֶךָ
זָכַרְתִּי
za-char-TI
I have remembered
בַלַּיְלָה
va-lai-LA
in the night
I have remembered Your name in the night, O LORD,
וָאֶשְׁמְרָה
va-esh-MRA
and I have kept
תּוֹרָתֶךָ
to-ra-te-CHA
Your Torah
and I have kept Your Torah.
Night, when nothing can be checked and nothing performed for an audience. Remembering the Name is paired with keeping the Torah, so memory and practice are stated as one act.
56
זֹאת הָיְתָה לִּי
כִּי פִקֻּדֶיךָ נָצָרְתִּי
פִקֻּדֶיךָ
fi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
נָצָרְתִּי
na-tzar-TI
I have guarded
that I have guarded Your precepts.
The stanza closes by asking what the speaker actually owns. The answer is not a reward for keeping the precepts but the keeping itself, counted as the possession.
57
חֶלְקִי יְהֹוָה
אָמַרְתִּי לִשְׁמֹר דְּבָרֶיךָ
אָמַרְתִּי
a-mar-TI
I have said
דְּבָרֶיךָ
dva-rei-CHA
Your words
I have said that I would keep Your words.
Het opens in the language of land allotment. What the other tribes received as territory the speaker claims as God, and the vow that follows is to keep words rather than fields.
58
חִלִּיתִי פָנֶיךָ בְכׇל לֵב
חׇנֵּנִי כְּאִמְרָתֶךָ
חִלִּיתִי
chi-li-TI
I have entreated
פָנֶיךָ
fa-nei-CHA
Your face
I have entreated Your face with all my heart;
חׇנֵּנִי
cho-ne-NI
be gracious to me
כְּאִמְרָתֶךָ
ke-im-ra-te-CHA
according to Your promise
be gracious to me according to Your promise.
The idiom is literally to soften someone's face. With all the heart is the psalm's measure of undivided attention, and it returns at 69 and 80.
59
חִשַּׁבְתִּי דְרָכָי
וָאָשִׁיבָה רַגְלַי אֶל עֵדֹתֶיךָ
חִשַּׁבְתִּי
chi-shav-TI
I have reckoned
I have reckoned up my ways,
וָאָשִׁיבָה
va-a-shi-VA
and I turned back
עֵדֹתֶיךָ
e-do-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
and I turned my feet back toward Your testimonies.
Accounting first, then movement. The verb for turning back is the ordinary word for repentance, but its object here is the feet rather than the soul.
60
חַשְׁתִּי וְלֹא הִתְמַהְמָהְתִּי
לִשְׁמֹר מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
חַשְׁתִּי
chash-TI
I hurried
הִתְמַהְמָהְתִּי
hit-mah-mah-TI
did I delay
I hurried and I did not delay,
מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
mitz-o-tei-CHA
Your commandments
to keep Your commandments.
Speed treated as a form of obedience. Hurried and did not delay say the same thing twice, which in biblical Hebrew is emphasis rather than padding.
61
חֶבְלֵי רְשָׁעִים עִוְּדֻנִי
תּוֹרָתְךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי
חֶבְלֵי
chev-LEI
the cords of
רְשָׁעִים
re-sha-IM
the wicked
עִוְּדֻנִי
iv-du-NI
have encircled me
The cords of the wicked have encircled me;
תּוֹרָתְךָ
to-rat-CHA
Your Torah
שָׁכָחְתִּי
sha-chach-TI
have I forgotten
Your Torah I have not forgotten.
Being tied up and not forgetting are simply set side by side. Nothing is requested in this verse: it reports only that memory survived the binding.
62
חֲצוֹת לַיְלָה אָקוּם לְהוֹדוֹת לָךְ
עַל מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ
חֲצוֹת
cha-TZOT
at the middle of
לְהוֹדוֹת
le-ho-DOT
to give thanks
At the middle of the night I rise to give thanks to You,
מִשְׁפְּטֵי
mish-PTEI
the judgments of
צִדְקֶךָ
tzid-ke-CHA
Your righteousness
for the judgments of Your righteousness.
The night of verse 55 returns as a fixed hour. What the midnight rising is for is thanks rather than petition, and the grounds are the rightness of the rulings.
63
חָבֵר אָנִי לְכׇל אֲשֶׁר יְרֵאוּךָ
וּלְשֹׁמְרֵי פִּקּוּדֶיךָ
יְרֵאוּךָ
ye-re-u-CHA
fear You
I am a companion to all who fear You,
וּלְשֹׁמְרֵי
ul-shom-REI
and to those who keep
פִּקּוּדֶיךָ
pi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
and to those who keep Your precepts.
The one social verse in the stanza. Belonging is defined by practice and not by kinship: the company is whoever fears God and keeps the precepts, whoever that turns out to be.
64
חַסְדְּךָ יְהֹוָה מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ
חֻקֶּיךָ לַמְּדֵנִי
חַסְדְּךָ
chas-de-CHA
Your kindness
הָאָרֶץ
ha-A-retz
the earth
Your kindness, O LORD, fills the earth;
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
לַמְּדֵנִי
lam-de-NI
teach me
teach me Your statutes.
The stanza widens to the whole earth and then narrows in two words to a single request. Teach me is the psalm's most frequent imperative, and kindness is what makes it askable.
65
טוֹב עָשִׂיתָ עִם עַבְדְּךָ
יְהֹוָה כִּדְבָרֶךָ
עָשִׂיתָ
a-si-TA
You have done
עַבְדְּךָ
av-de-CHA
Your servant
You have dealt well with Your servant,
כִּדְבָרֶךָ
kid-va-re-CHA
according to Your word
O LORD, according to Your word.
Tet opens with the word that starts five of its eight verses, good. The claim is retrospective, so the requests that follow in this stanza are not speculative.
66
טוּב טַעַם וָדַעַת לַמְּדֵנִי
כִּי בְמִצְוֺתֶיךָ הֶאֱמָנְתִּי
וָדַעַת
va-da-AT
and knowledge
לַמְּדֵנִי
lam-de-NI
teach me
Teach me good discernment and knowledge,
בְמִצְוֺתֶיךָ
ve-mitz-o-tei-CHA
in Your commandments
הֶאֱמָנְתִּי
he-e-man-TI
I have believed
for I have believed in Your commandments.
What is asked for is not information but taste, the faculty of telling one thing from another. Belief in the commandments is offered as the qualification for receiving it.
67
טֶרֶם אֶעֱנֶה אֲנִי שֹׁגֵג
וְעַתָּה אִמְרָתְךָ שָׁמָרְתִּי
אֶעֱנֶה
e-e-NE
I was afflicted
שֹׁגֵג
sho-GEG
was straying
Before I was afflicted I was straying,
אִמְרָתְךָ
im-rat-CHA
Your promise
שָׁמָרְתִּי
sha-mar-TI
I have kept
but now I have kept Your promise.
The most exposed admission in the psalm: the straying stopped when the suffering started. Before and now split the verse in half, and the verb for erring is the one used of unintentional sin.
68
טוֹב אַתָּה וּמֵטִיב
לַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ
וּמֵטִיב
u-me-TIV
and doing good
You are good and You do good;
לַמְּדֵנִי
lam-de-NI
teach me
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
teach me Your statutes.
Good is turned from a description into an action by the third word, and the request rides straight off it. Five words, the shortest verse in this stretch.
69
טָפְלוּ עָלַי שֶׁקֶר זֵדִים
אֲנִי בְּכׇל לֵב אֶצֹּר פִּקּוּדֶיךָ
טָפְלוּ
taf-LU
they have smeared
The arrogant have smeared a lie against me;
פִּקּוּדֶיךָ
pi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
I, with all my heart, will guard Your precepts.
The arrogant of verse 51 escalate from mockery to fabrication. With all the heart from verse 58 comes back as the counterweight to what they are smearing on.
70
טָפַשׁ כַּחֵלֶב לִבָּם
אֲנִי תּוֹרָתְךָ שִׁעֲשָׁעְתִּי
טָפַשׁ
ta-FASH
has grown gross
כַּחֵלֶב
ka-CHE-lev
like fat
Their heart has grown gross like fat;
תּוֹרָתְךָ
to-rat-CHA
Your Torah
שִׁעֲשָׁעְתִּי
shi-a-sha-TI
I take delight
I take delight in Your Torah.
Their heart against my delight. Fat here means insensible rather than rich, a heart too padded to feel anything, set opposite the play-verb of verse 47.
71
טוֹב לִי כִי עֻנֵּיתִי
לְמַעַן אֶלְמַד חֻקֶּיךָ
עֻנֵּיתִי
u-nei-TI
I was afflicted
It is good for me that I was afflicted,
אֶלְמַד
el-MAD
I might learn
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
so that I might learn Your statutes.
Verse 67 reported what happened; this one calls it good. The affliction is reclassified as teaching, and the purpose clause names the syllabus it was for.
72
טוֹב לִי תוֹרַת פִּיךָ
מֵאַלְפֵי זָהָב וָכָסֶף
תוֹרַת
to-RAT
is the Torah of
Better for me is the Torah of Your mouth
מֵאַלְפֵי
me-al-FEI
than thousands of
וָכָסֶף
va-CHA-sef
and silver
than thousands in gold and silver.
Torah of Your mouth, spoken rather than written, and the phrase returns in altered form at the end of the kaf stanza. The comparison is openly commercial: thousands in metal, and it still loses.
73
יָדֶיךָ עָשׂוּנִי וַיְכוֹנְנוּנִי
הֲבִינֵנִי וְאֶלְמְדָה מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
יָדֶיךָ
ya-dei-CHA
Your hands
וַיְכוֹנְנוּנִי
vai-chon-nu-NI
and set me firm
Your hands made me and set me firm;
הֲבִינֵנִי
ha-vi-ne-NI
give me understanding
וְאֶלְמְדָה
ve-el-me-DA
and let me learn
מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
mitz-o-tei-CHA
Your commandments
give me understanding, and let me learn Your commandments.
Yod opens on the meaning of its own letter, hand. The argument runs from manufacture: whoever built the thing is the one asked to supply its understanding.
74
יְרֵאֶיךָ יִרְאוּנִי וְיִשְׂמָחוּ
כִּי לִדְבָרְךָ יִחָלְתִּי
יְרֵאֶיךָ
ye-re-ei-CHA
those who fear You
יִרְאוּנִי
yir-u-NI
will see me
וְיִשְׂמָחוּ
ve-yis-ma-CHU
and rejoice
Those who fear You will see me and rejoice,
לִדְבָרְךָ
lid-var-CHA
for Your word
יִחָלְתִּי
yi-chal-TI
I have hoped
because I have hoped for Your word.
The speaker's rescue is offered as public evidence. Others who fear God are watching, and what gladdens them is that hoping in the word turned out to be justified.
75
יָדַעְתִּי יְהֹוָה כִּי צֶדֶק מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ
וֶאֱמוּנָה עִנִּיתָנִי
מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ
mish-pa-tei-CHA
are Your judgments
I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous,
וֶאֱמוּנָה
ve-e-mu-NA
and in faithfulness
עִנִּיתָנִי
i-ni-ta-NI
You afflicted me
and that in faithfulness You afflicted me.
The hardest sentence in the psalm. The affliction of 67 and 71 is not explained away but attributed, and attributed to faithfulness rather than to anger.
76
יְהִי נָא חַסְדְּךָ לְנַחֲמֵנִי
כְּאִמְרָתְךָ לְעַבְדֶּךָ
חַסְדְּךָ
chas-de-CHA
Your kindness
לְנַחֲמֵנִי
le-na-cha-me-NI
to comfort me
Let Your kindness, please, be there to comfort me,
כְּאִמְרָתְךָ
ke-im-rat-CHA
according to Your promise
לְעַבְדֶּךָ
le-av-de-CHA
to Your servant
according to Your promise to Your servant.
The first please in this stretch. Kindness is assigned one specific job, comforting, and the grounds are a promise already made to a servant rather than a fresh claim.
77
יְבֹאוּנִי רַחֲמֶיךָ וְאֶחְיֶה
כִּי תוֹרָתְךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי
יְבֹאוּנִי
ye-vo-u-NI
let them come to me
רַחֲמֶיךָ
ra-cha-mei-CHA
Your mercies
וְאֶחְיֶה
ve-ech-YE
and let me live
Let Your mercies come to me, and let me live,
תוֹרָתְךָ
to-rat-CHA
Your Torah
שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי
sha-a-shu-AI
is my delight
for Your Torah is my delight.
Mercies in the plural, from the word for womb, asked to arrive so that living can resume. The delight of 47 and 70 returns here as the reason rather than the response.
78
יֵבֹשׁוּ זֵדִים כִּי שֶׁקֶר עִוְּתוּנִי
אֲנִי אָשִׂיחַ בְּפִקּוּדֶיךָ
יֵבֹשׁוּ
ye-vo-SHU
let them be ashamed
שֶׁקֶר
SHE-ker
with falsehood
עִוְּתוּנִי
iv-tu-NI
they have wronged me
Let the arrogant be ashamed, for with falsehood they have wronged me;
אָשִׂיחַ
a-SI-ach
will meditate
בְּפִקּוּדֶיךָ
be-fi-ku-dei-CHA
on Your precepts
I will meditate on Your precepts.
The one curse in the stanza, and it is minimal: let them be ashamed, nothing worse than that. The speaker's own response is to go on turning the precepts over to himself.
79
יָשׁוּבוּ לִי יְרֵאֶיךָ
וְיֹדְעֵי עֵדֹתֶיךָ
יָשׁוּבוּ
ya-shu-VU
let them turn
יְרֵאֶיךָ
ye-re-ei-CHA
those who fear You
Let those who fear You turn back to me,
וְיֹדְעֵי
ve-yod-EI
and those who know
עֵדֹתֶיךָ
e-do-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
and those who know Your testimonies.
Turning of a different kind from verse 59: here it is other people asked to turn back toward the speaker. Standing among the faithful is treated as something worth praying for.
80
יְהִי לִבִּי תָמִים בְּחֻקֶּיךָ
לְמַעַן לֹא אֵבוֹשׁ
בְּחֻקֶּיךָ
be-chu-kei-CHA
in Your statutes
Let my heart be whole in Your statutes,
אֵבוֹשׁ
e-VOSH
will I be ashamed
so that I will not be ashamed.
Yod closes with the shame of verse 78 turned inward. Tamim, unblemished, is a word from the sacrifice laws applied to a heart, and the statutes are where that wholeness gets measured.
81
כָּלְתָה לִתְשׁוּעָתְךָ נַפְשִׁי
לִדְבָרְךָ יִחָלְתִּי
כָּלְתָה
kal-TA
has worn out
לִתְשׁוּעָתְךָ
lit-shu-at-CHA
for Your salvation
My soul has worn itself out for Your deliverance;
לִדְבָרְךָ
lid-var-CHA
for Your word
יִחָלְתִּי
yi-chal-TI
I have hoped
for Your word I have hoped.
Kaf opens with a verb of exhaustion that governs its first two verses. The soul is spent and the last two words still say hope, which is the tension the whole stanza runs on.
82
כָּלוּ עֵינַי לְאִמְרָתֶךָ
לֵאמֹר מָתַי תְּנַחֲמֵנִי
לְאִמְרָתֶךָ
le-im-ra-te-CHA
for Your promise
My eyes have worn out for Your promise,
תְּנַחֲמֵנִי
te-na-cha-me-NI
will You comfort me
saying: when will You comfort me?
The same exhaustion verb as 81, now with the eyes as its subject rather than the soul. Here alone the speaker quotes his own question back, and it is a question about timing.
83
כִּי הָיִיתִי כְּנֹאד בְּקִיטוֹר
חֻקֶּיךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי
הָיִיתִי
ha-yi-TI
I have become
כְּנֹאד
knod
like a skin bottle
בְּקִיטוֹר
be-ki-TOR
in smoke
For I have become like a skin bottle in the smoke;
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
שָׁכָחְתִּי
sha-chach-TI
have I forgotten
Your statutes I have not forgotten.
A leather bottle hung over a fire until it shrivels and cracks. The image is of drying out rather than of burning, and it is answered by the flattest claim available: not forgotten.
84
כַּמָּה יְמֵי עַבְדֶּךָ
מָתַי תַּעֲשֶׂה בְרֹדְפַי מִשְׁפָּט
יְמֵי
ye-MEI
are the days of
עַבְדֶּךָ
av-de-CHA
Your servant
How many are the days of Your servant?
תַּעֲשֶׂה
ta-a-SE
will You execute
בְרֹדְפַי
vrod-FAI
on my pursuers
מִשְׁפָּט
mish-PAT
judgment
When will You execute judgment on my pursuers?
Two questions with no statement between them. This is the only verse in the stretch that asks God to act against anyone, and it makes the ask by way of the speaker's own lifespan.
85
כָּרוּ לִי זֵדִים שִׁיחוֹת
אֲשֶׁר לֹא כְתוֹרָתֶךָ
The arrogant have dug pits for me,
כְתוֹרָתֶךָ
che-to-ra-te-CHA
according to Your Torah
which is not according to Your Torah.
The arrogant move from words to earthworks. The relative clause carries the weight: digging pits is measured against the Torah and found to fall outside it.
86
כׇּל מִצְוֺתֶיךָ אֱמוּנָה
שֶׁקֶר רְדָפוּנִי עׇזְרֵנִי
מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
mitz-o-tei-CHA
Your commandments
אֱמוּנָה
e-mu-NA
are faithfulness
All Your commandments are faithfulness;
שֶׁקֶר
SHE-ker
with falsehood
רְדָפוּנִי
re-da-fu-NI
they have pursued me
with falsehood they have pursued me; help me.
Faithfulness is asserted of the commandments and falsehood of the pursuers, the two nouns set directly against each other. The verse ends on a single word of appeal.
87
כִּמְעַט כִּלּוּנִי בָאָרֶץ
וַאֲנִי לֹא עָזַבְתִּי פִקֻּדֶיךָ
כִּלּוּנִי
ki-lu-NI
they finished me
בָאָרֶץ
va-A-retz
in the land
They almost finished me off in the land,
עָזַבְתִּי
a-zav-TI
did I abandon
פִקֻּדֶיךָ
fi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
but I have not abandoned Your precepts.
Almost is the whole verse. The near-killing is reported in three words and answered by four, and the answer is not a rescue but a record of what was not let go.
88
כְּחַסְדְּךָ חַיֵּנִי
וְאֶשְׁמְרָה עֵדוּת פִּיךָ
כְּחַסְדְּךָ
ke-chas-de-CHA
according to Your kindness
חַיֵּנִי
cha-ye-NI
give me life
According to Your kindness give me life,
וְאֶשְׁמְרָה
ve-esh-MRA
and let me keep
עֵדוּת
e-DUT
the testimony of
and let me keep the testimony of Your mouth.
The stanza ends where 50 began, with give me life, now as a request instead of a report. Testimony of Your mouth answers Torah of Your mouth at 72, closing the two halves of this slice on the same phrase.
89
לְעוֹלָם יְהֹוָה
דְּבָרְךָ נִצָּב בַּשָּׁמָיִם
דְּבָרְךָ
dvar-CHA
Your word
בַּשָּׁמָיִם
ba-sha-ma-YIM
in the heavens
Your word stands firm in the heavens.
Lamed opens with davar, the word, and with no request at all. The claim is that the word is already fixed in heaven, older than the speaker's need of it.
90
לְדֹר וָדֹר אֱמוּנָתֶךָ
כּוֹנַנְתָּ אֶרֶץ וַתַּעֲמֹד
וָדֹר
va-DOR
and generation
אֱמוּנָתֶךָ
e-mu-na-te-CHA
Your faithfulness
To generation after generation is Your faithfulness;
כּוֹנַנְתָּ
ko-nan-TA
You established
וַתַּעֲמֹד
va-ta-a-MOD
and it stands
You established the earth, and it stands.
One of the two verses in the psalm that use none of the eight Torah words. Faithfulness stands in their place, and the proof offered is the earth, which was set up and simply keeps standing.
91
לְמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ עָמְדוּ הַיּוֹם
כִּי הַכֹּל עֲבָדֶיךָ
לְמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ
le-mish-pa-tei-CHA
according to Your judgments
By Your judgments they stand today,
עֲבָדֶיךָ
a-va-dei-CHA
are Your servants
for everything is Your servant.
Mishpatim, the judgments, read cosmically. The same rulings that govern the speaker hold the day in place, and every created thing is enrolled as a servant.
92
לוּלֵי תוֹרָתְךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי
אָז אָבַדְתִּי בְעׇנְיִי
תוֹרָתְךָ
to-rat-CHA
Your teaching
שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי
sha-a-shu-AI
my delight
Had Your teaching not been my delight,
אָבַדְתִּי
a-vad-TI
I would have perished
בְעׇנְיִי
ve-on-YI
in my affliction
I would then have perished in my affliction.
The first counterfactual of the stanza. Torah is called sha'ashua, delight, and the claim is bare survival: without that delight the affliction would already have finished him.
93
לְעוֹלָם לֹא אֶשְׁכַּח פִּקּוּדֶיךָ
כִּי בָם חִיִּיתָנִי
אֶשְׁכַּח
esh-KACH
will I forget
פִּקּוּדֶיךָ
pi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
Never will I forget Your precepts,
חִיִּיתָנִי
chi-yi-ta-NI
You have kept me alive
for through them You have kept me alive.
Pikudim, precepts, joined to a promise never to forget. The reason arrives in a single word, through them, which credits the precepts themselves with keeping him alive.
94
לְךָ אֲנִי הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי
כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ דָרָשְׁתִּי
הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי
ho-shi-e-NI
save me
I am Yours, save me,
פִקּוּדֶיךָ
fi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
דָרָשְׁתִּי
da-rash-TI
I have sought
for I have sought Your precepts.
The shortest possession claim in the psalm: I am Yours. The imperative hoshieni, save me, rests on that ownership and on the fact that he went looking for the pikudim.
95
לִי קִוּוּ רְשָׁעִים לְאַבְּדֵנִי
עֵדֹתֶיךָ אֶתְבּוֹנָן
רְשָׁעִים
re-sha-IM
the wicked
לְאַבְּדֵנִי
le-ab-de-NI
to destroy me
The wicked have lain in wait for me to destroy me;
עֵדֹתֶיךָ
e-do-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
אֶתְבּוֹנָן
et-bo-NAN
I consider
I study Your testimonies.
Two parties wait at once. They wait to destroy, and while they wait he studies the edot, so the ambush is answered by attention rather than by flight.
96
לְכׇל תִּכְלָה רָאִיתִי קֵץ
רְחָבָה מִצְוָתְךָ מְאֹד
תִּכְלָה
tich-LA
perfection
רָאִיתִי
ra-i-TI
I have seen
To all perfection I have seen an end;
מִצְוָתְךָ
mitz-vat-CHA
Your commandment
Your commandment is exceedingly broad.
The one verse here that measures Torah against everything else. He has found a limit to all completeness; only the mitzvah is called broad, and exceedingly is the last word of the stanza.
97
מָה אָהַבְתִּי תוֹרָתֶךָ
כׇּל הַיּוֹם הִיא שִׂיחָתִי
תוֹרָתֶךָ
to-ra-te-CHA
Your teaching
How I love Your teaching!
שִׂיחָתִי
si-cha-TI
my meditation
All the day it is my meditation.
Mem opens with an exclamation, not a petition. Torah is loved and named sichah, the thing he talks over all day, which sets up the three comparisons that follow.
98
מֵאֹיְבַי תְּחַכְּמֵנִי מִצְוֺתֶךָ
כִּי לְעוֹלָם הִיא לִי
מֵאֹיְבַי
me-oi-VAI
than my enemies
תְּחַכְּמֵנִי
te-chak-me-NI
it makes me wise
מִצְוֺתֶךָ
mitz-o-te-CHA
Your commandments
Wiser than my enemies Your commandments make me,
for they are mine forever.
First of three comparisons: wiser than enemies. The mitzvot are the instrument, and the singular pronoun treats them as one possession that never leaves him.
99
מִכׇּל מְלַמְּדַי הִשְׂכַּלְתִּי
כִּי עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ שִׂיחָה לִי
מִכׇּל
mi-KOL
more than all
מְלַמְּדַי
mlam-DAI
my teachers
הִשְׂכַּלְתִּי
his-kal-TI
I have grown wise
More than all my teachers I have grown wise,
עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ
ed-o-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
שִׂיחָה
si-CHA
are a meditation
for Your testimonies are my meditation.
Second comparison, and the risky one: more insight than his teachers. The edot are what he keeps talking over, so the claim is about attention, not native talent.
100
מִזְּקֵנִים אֶתְבּוֹנָן
כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ נָצָרְתִּי
מִזְּקֵנִים
miz-ke-NIM
more than elders
אֶתְבּוֹנָן
et-bo-NAN
I understand
More than elders I understand,
פִקּוּדֶיךָ
fi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
נָצָרְתִּי
na-tzar-TI
I have kept
because I have kept Your precepts.
Third comparison, the elders, and here the reason shifts from meditation to conduct: he understands because he has guarded the pikudim, not because he has thought harder.
101
מִכׇּל אֹרַח רָע כָּלִאתִי רַגְלָי
לְמַעַן אֶשְׁמֹר דְּבָרֶךָ
כָּלִאתִי
ka-li-TI
I have held back
From every evil path I have held back my feet,
אֶשְׁמֹר
esh-MOR
I may keep
דְּבָרֶךָ
dva-re-CHA
Your word
so that I may keep Your word.
A negative discipline. Feet held back from every evil path, with lema'an, in order that, making the restraint purposeful: it exists so the davar can be kept.
102
מִמִּשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לֹא סָרְתִּי
כִּי אַתָּה הוֹרֵתָנִי
מִמִּשְׁפָּטֶיךָ
mi-mish-pa-tei-CHA
from Your judgments
סָרְתִּי
sar-TI
I have turned
From Your judgments I have not turned aside,
הוֹרֵתָנִי
ho-re-ta-NI
have taught me
for You Yourself have taught me.
The paired negative: no turning aside from the mishpatim. The reason is handed to God as teacher, so standing still is not counted as the speaker's own achievement.
103
מַה נִּמְלְצוּ לְחִכִּי אִמְרָתֶךָ
מִדְּבַשׁ לְפִי
נִּמְלְצוּ
nim-le-TZU
smooth are they
לְחִכִּי
le-chi-KI
to my palate
אִמְרָתֶךָ
im-ra-te-CHA
Your saying
How smooth to my palate is Your saying,
מִדְּבַשׁ
mid-VASH
than honey
sweeter than honey to my mouth.
The taste verse. Imrah, the saying, is placed on the palate and rated against honey, the only place in this stretch where Torah is measured by a sense rather than an argument.
104
מִפִּקּוּדֶיךָ אֶתְבּוֹנָן
עַל כֵּן שָׂנֵאתִי כׇּל אֹרַח שָׁקֶר
מִפִּקּוּדֶיךָ
mi-pi-ku-dei-CHA
from Your precepts
אֶתְבּוֹנָן
et-bo-NAN
I gain understanding
From Your precepts I gain understanding;
therefore I hate every false path.
Mem closes the way it argued. Understanding comes out of the pikudim, and that understanding produces hatred of every false path, so knowledge here has a moral edge and not only a scope.
105
נֵר לְרַגְלִי דְבָרֶךָ
וְאוֹר לִנְתִיבָתִי
לְרַגְלִי
le-rag-LI
for my foot
דְבָרֶךָ
dva-re-CHA
is Your word
A lamp for my foot is Your word,
לִנְתִיבָתִי
lin-ti-va-TI
for my path
and a light for my path.
Nun opens with the most quoted line of the psalm. Davar as a lamp is small, local light, enough for one step, which is exactly what a foot needs.
106
נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי וָאֲקַיֵּמָה
לִשְׁמֹר מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ
נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי
nish-ba-TI
I have sworn
וָאֲקַיֵּמָה
va-a-ka-ye-MA
and I will fulfill it
I have sworn, and I will fulfill it,
מִשְׁפְּטֵי
mish-PTEI
the judgments of
צִדְקֶךָ
tzid-ke-CHA
Your righteousness
to keep the judgments of Your righteousness.
A verse of oath. The unusual doubling, sworn and then confirmed, binds him twice over to the mishpatim, which are named here as the judgments of Your righteousness.
107
נַעֲנֵיתִי עַד מְאֹד
יְהֹוָה חַיֵּנִי כִדְבָרֶךָ
נַעֲנֵיתִי
na-a-nei-TI
I am afflicted
I am afflicted very much;
חַיֵּנִי
cha-ye-NI
give me life
כִדְבָרֶךָ
chid-va-re-CHA
according to Your word
LORD, give me life according to Your word.
The first plain complaint of the stanza. Affliction is stated with no cause given, and the request chayeni, give me life, is measured strictly by the davar.
108
נִדְבוֹת פִּי רְצֵה נָא יְהֹוָה
וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ לַמְּדֵנִי
נִדְבוֹת
nid-VOT
the freewill offerings of
Accept, please, the freewill offerings of my mouth, LORD,
וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ
u-mish-pa-tei-CHA
and Your judgments
לַמְּדֵנִי
lam-de-NI
teach me
and teach me Your judgments.
Sacrificial language borrowed for speech: what he brings are the freewill offerings of his mouth. The second half asks for instruction in the mishpatim, so praise and learning arrive in one breath.
109
נַפְשִׁי בְכַפִּי תָמִיד
וְתוֹרָתְךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי
בְכַפִּי
ve-cha-PI
and in my palm
My soul is in my palm continually,
וְתוֹרָתְךָ
ve-to-rat-CHA
yet Your teaching
שָׁכָחְתִּי
sha-chach-TI
have I forgotten
yet Your teaching I have not forgotten.
Life carried in the palm is an idiom for constant danger. The counterweight is memory: even so, the torah has not been forgotten, and that contrast is the whole line.
110
נָתְנוּ רְשָׁעִים פַּח לִי
וּמִפִּקּוּדֶיךָ לֹא תָעִיתִי
רְשָׁעִים
re-sha-IM
the wicked
The wicked have set a trap for me,
וּמִפִּקּוּדֶיךָ
u-mi-pi-ku-dei-CHA
yet from Your precepts
תָעִיתִי
ta-i-TI
have I strayed
yet from Your precepts I have not strayed.
The danger of verse 109 becomes concrete, a trap laid by the wicked. The answering verb is not escape but not straying from the pikudim, so staying on course is the survival move.
111
נָחַלְתִּי עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ לְעוֹלָם
כִּי שְׂשׂוֹן לִבִּי הֵמָּה
נָחַלְתִּי
na-chal-TI
I have inherited
עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ
ed-o-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
I have taken Your testimonies as my inheritance forever,
for they are the joy of my heart.
The vocabulary turns legal. The edot are taken as a nachalah, an inherited holding rather than a duty, and the reason given for wanting it is joy.
112
נָטִיתִי לִבִּי לַעֲשׂוֹת חֻקֶּיךָ
לְעוֹלָם עֵקֶב
נָטִיתִי
na-ti-TI
I have inclined
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
I have inclined my heart to do Your statutes,
forever, to the very end.
Nun closes on an act of will: the heart bent toward doing the chukim. The last word fixes the term, all the way to the end, giving the stanza a horizon rather than a mood.
113
סֵעֲפִים שָׂנֵאתִי
וְתוֹרָתְךָ אָהָבְתִּי
סֵעֲפִים
se-a-FIM
the divided
The divided I hate,
וְתוֹרָתְךָ
ve-to-rat-CHA
but Your teaching
but Your teaching I love.
Samech opens on a hated object, the divided or half hearted, set directly opposite love of the torah. Four words, two verbs, and the stanza's theme of separation is already set.
114
סִתְרִי וּמָגִנִּי אָתָּה
לִדְבָרְךָ יִחָלְתִּי
סִתְרִי
sit-RI
my hiding place
וּמָגִנִּי
u-ma-gi-NI
and my shield
My hiding place and my shield are You;
לִדְבָרְךָ
lid-var-CHA
for Your word
יִחָלְתִּי
yi-chal-TI
I have waited
for Your word I wait.
Two shelter nouns, then a verb of waiting. Nothing is actually requested: the davar is what he waits on, and the waiting is offered as the response to danger.
115
סוּרוּ מִמֶּנִּי מְרֵעִים
וְאֶצְּרָה מִצְוֺת אֱלֹהָי
מְרֵעִים
mre-IM
you evildoers
Turn away from me, you evildoers,
וְאֶצְּרָה
ve-etz-RA
that I may keep
מִצְוֺת
mitz-OT
the commandments of
that I may keep the commandments of my God.
The rare imperative addressed to people rather than to God. Evildoers are told to leave, and the stated purpose is keeping the mitzvot, so company is treated as an obstacle to practice.
116
סׇמְכֵנִי כְאִמְרָתְךָ וְאֶחְיֶה
וְאַל תְּבִישֵׁנִי מִשִּׂבְרִי
סׇמְכֵנִי
som-che-NI
uphold me
כְאִמְרָתְךָ
che-im-rat-CHA
according to Your saying
וְאֶחְיֶה
ve-ech-YE
that I may live
Uphold me according to Your saying, that I may live,
תְּבִישֵׁנִי
te-vi-she-NI
let me be ashamed
מִשִּׂבְרִי
mi-siv-RI
of my hope
and do not let me be shamed of my hope.
Two requests fused into one: hold me up by the imrah so that I live, and do not let my hope be disgraced. Living and not being shamed are asked for as the same favour.
117
סְעָדֵנִי וְאִוָּשֵׁעָה
וְאֶשְׁעָה בְחֻקֶּיךָ תָמִיד
סְעָדֵנִי
se-a-de-NI
support me
וְאִוָּשֵׁעָה
ve-i-va-she-A
that I may be saved
Support me, that I may be saved,
וְאֶשְׁעָה
ve-esh-A
and I will gaze
בְחֻקֶּיךָ
ve-chu-kei-CHA
on Your statutes
and I will gaze on Your statutes continually.
Rescue asked for with a purpose clause attached. Held upright, he can keep looking at the chukim without stopping, so being saved is wanted in order that study can continue.
118
סָלִיתָ כׇּל שׁוֹגִים מֵחֻקֶּיךָ
כִּי שֶׁקֶר תַּרְמִיתָם
סָלִיתָ
sa-li-TA
You have rejected
מֵחֻקֶּיךָ
me-chu-kei-CHA
from Your statutes
You have set aside all who stray from Your statutes,
שֶׁקֶר
SHE-ker
is falsehood
תַּרְמִיתָם
tar-mi-TAM
their deceit
for their deceit is falsehood.
The judgment half of the stanza. Those who wander from the chukim are set aside, and the reason given is that their cleverness is a lie, not that they are weak.
119
סִגִים הִשְׁבַּתָּ כׇל רִשְׁעֵי אָרֶץ
לָכֵן אָהַבְתִּי עֵדֹתֶיךָ
הִשְׁבַּתָּ
hish-ba-TA
You have made cease
רִשְׁעֵי
rish-EI
the wicked of
Like dross You have removed all the wicked of the earth;
עֵדֹתֶיךָ
e-do-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
therefore I love Your testimonies.
A metallurgical image: the wicked skimmed off like the scum on molten metal. The speaker draws his own conclusion from it, love of the edot, so the verse ends with him and not with them.
120
סָמַר מִפַּחְדְּךָ בְשָׂרִי
וּמִמִּשְׁפָּטֶיךָ יָרֵאתִי
מִפַּחְדְּךָ
mi-pach-de-CHA
from dread of You
My flesh bristles in dread of You,
וּמִמִּשְׁפָּטֶיךָ
u-mi-mish-pa-tei-CHA
and of Your judgments
יָרֵאתִי
ya-re-TI
I am afraid
and of Your judgments I am afraid.
Samech ends in the body. Flesh bristles, and the object of the dread is the mishpatim themselves, which turns the judgment of verse 118 back onto the speaker.
121
עָשִׂיתִי מִשְׁפָּט וָצֶדֶק
בַּל תַּנִּיחֵנִי לְעֹשְׁקָי
עָשִׂיתִי
a-si-TI
I have done
וָצֶדֶק
va-TZE-dek
and righteousness
I have done justice and righteousness;
תַּנִּיחֵנִי
ta-ni-che-NI
leave me
לְעֹשְׁקָי
le-osh-KAI
to my oppressors
do not leave me to my oppressors.
Ayin opens with a claim of merit, rare in this psalm. Having done mishpat himself, all he asks is not to be handed over to those pressing him.
122
עֲרֹב עַבְדְּךָ לְטוֹב
אַל יַעַשְׁקֻנִי זֵדִים
עֲרֹב
a-ROV
stand surety for
עַבְדְּךָ
av-de-CHA
Your servant
Stand surety for Your servant for good;
יַעַשְׁקֻנִי
ya-ash-ku-NI
let them oppress me
let the arrogant not oppress me.
The second of the two verses using none of the eight Torah words. It asks God to act as guarantor for His own servant, a term taken from debt law rather than from Torah.
123
עֵינַי כָּלוּ לִישׁוּעָתֶךָ
וּלְאִמְרַת צִדְקֶךָ
לִישׁוּעָתֶךָ
li-shu-a-te-CHA
for Your salvation
My eyes have failed for Your salvation,
וּלְאִמְרַת
ul-im-RAT
and for the saying of
צִדְקֶךָ
tzid-ke-CHA
Your righteousness
and for the saying of Your righteousness.
Eyes giving out is the idiom for waiting past endurance. Two things are awaited at once, the salvation and the imrah, which makes rescue and word a single expected arrival.
124
עֲשֵׂה עִם עַבְדְּךָ כְחַסְדֶּךָ
וְחֻקֶּיךָ לַמְּדֵנִי
עַבְדְּךָ
av-de-CHA
Your servant
כְחַסְדֶּךָ
che-chas-de-CHA
according to Your kindness
Deal with Your servant according to Your kindness,
וְחֻקֶּיךָ
ve-chu-kei-CHA
and Your statutes
לַמְּדֵנִי
lam-de-NI
teach me
and teach me Your statutes.
The measure named for the request is chesed, kindness, not the record claimed back in verse 121. What that kindness is asked to buy is instruction in the chukim.
125
עַבְדְּךָ אָנִי הֲבִינֵנִי
וְאֵדְעָה עֵדֹתֶיךָ
עַבְדְּךָ
av-de-CHA
Your servant
הֲבִינֵנִי
ha-vi-ne-NI
give me understanding
I am Your servant, give me understanding,
וְאֵדְעָה
ve-ed-A
that I may know
עֵדֹתֶיךָ
e-do-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
that I may know Your testimonies.
The servant title of verse 122 turned into leverage for a request. Understanding is asked for with an explicit purpose attached: so that the edot can be known.
126
עֵת לַעֲשׂוֹת לַיהֹוָה
הֵפֵרוּ תּוֹרָתֶךָ
לַיהֹוָה
lai-ho-VA
for the LORD
It is time to act for the LORD;
הֵפֵרוּ
he-fe-RU
they have broken
תּוֹרָתֶךָ
to-ra-te-CHA
Your teaching
they have broken Your teaching.
The one verse in this stretch that speaks of God in the third person, and it tells Him when to move. The ground offered is that people have annulled the torah.
127
עַל כֵּן אָהַבְתִּי מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
מִזָּהָב וּמִפָּז
מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
mitz-o-tei-CHA
Your commandments
Therefore I love Your commandments
מִזָּהָב
mi-za-HAV
more than gold
וּמִפָּז
u-mi-PAZ
and more than fine gold
more than gold, more than fine gold.
The gold comparison. Mitzvot outrank both zahav and paz, the ordinary metal and the refined one, which is the only economic measure the ayin stanza uses.
128
עַל כֵּן כׇּל פִּקּוּדֵי כֹל יִשָּׁרְתִּי
כׇּל אֹרַח שֶׁקֶר שָׂנֵאתִי
פִּקּוּדֵי
pi-ku-DEI
the precepts of
יִשָּׁרְתִּי
yi-shar-TI
I hold to be right
Therefore all the precepts of everything I hold to be right;
The most emphatic verse of the stanza, with kol, all, appearing three times in ten words. Every one of the pikudim is declared straight, and the matching move is hatred of every false path.
129
פְּלָאוֹת עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ
עַל כֵּן נְצָרָתַם נַפְשִׁי
פְּלָאוֹת
pla-OT
are wonders
עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ
ed-o-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
Wonders are Your testimonies;
נְצָרָתַם
ne-tza-ra-TAM
has kept them
therefore my soul has kept them.
Pe opens by calling the edot wonders, the vocabulary of miracle rather than of law. What follows is guarding, and the guardian named is the nefesh itself.
130
פֵּתַח דְּבָרֶיךָ יָאִיר
מֵבִין פְּתָיִים
פֵּתַח
pe-TACH
the opening of
דְּבָרֶיךָ
dva-rei-CHA
Your words
The opening of Your words gives light,
מֵבִין
me-VIN
giving understanding to
פְּתָיִים
pta-YIM
the simple
giving understanding to the simple.
The teaching verse. What gives light is the petach, the opening or unfolding of the words, and the beneficiaries named are the simple rather than the learned.
131
פִּי פָעַרְתִּי וָאֶשְׁאָפָה
כִּי לְמִצְוֺתֶיךָ יָאָבְתִּי
פָעַרְתִּי
fa-ar-TI
I opened wide
וָאֶשְׁאָפָה
va-esh-a-FA
and I panted
I opened my mouth wide and panted,
לְמִצְוֺתֶיךָ
le-mitz-o-tei-CHA
for Your commandments
יָאָבְתִּי
ya-av-TI
I longed
for I longed for Your commandments.
A physical image of appetite, the mouth wide and the breath short. The object of the craving is the mitzvot, so desire and not duty is given as the reason for keeping them.
132
פְּנֵה אֵלַי וְחׇנֵּנִי
כְּמִשְׁפָּט לְאֹהֲבֵי שְׁמֶךָ
וְחׇנֵּנִי
ve-cho-ne-NI
and be gracious to me
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
כְּמִשְׁפָּט
kmish-PAT
as is the rule
לְאֹהֲבֵי
le-o-ha-VEI
for those who love
as is the rule for those who love Your name.
The turn to face. Two imperatives, turn and show favour, and the standard invoked is mishpat in its sense of customary practice, what is owed to those who love the Name.
133
פְּעָמַי הָכֵן בְּאִמְרָתֶךָ
וְאַל תַּשְׁלֶט בִּי כׇל אָוֶן
בְּאִמְרָתֶךָ
be-im-ra-te-CHA
by Your word
Make my steps firm by Your word,
תַּשְׁלֶט
TASH-let
have dominion
and let no iniquity rule over me.
Two requests in one breath, and they pull in opposite directions: hold the feet steady, and hold something else back. The Torah word is imrah, the spoken promise, used here as the ground underfoot rather than as something studied.
134
פְּדֵנִי מֵעֹשֶׁק אָדָם
וְאֶשְׁמְרָה פִּקּוּדֶיךָ
פְּדֵנִי
pe-de-NI
redeem me
מֵעֹשֶׁק
me-O-shek
from the oppression of
Redeem me from the oppression of man,
וְאֶשְׁמְרָה
ve-esh-MRA
and I will keep
פִּקּוּדֶיךָ
pi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
and I will keep Your precepts.
The pressure named in the previous verse was iniquity from within; here it is a human hand from outside. The consequence clause is the same shape both times: rescue first, then keeping. This one uses piqqudim.
135
פָּנֶיךָ הָאֵר בְּעַבְדֶּךָ
וְלַמְּדֵנִי אֶת חֻקֶּיךָ
פָּנֶיךָ
pa-nei-CHA
Your face
בְּעַבְדֶּךָ
be-av-de-CHA
upon Your servant
Make Your face shine upon Your servant,
וְלַמְּדֵנִי
ve-lam-de-NI
and teach me
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
and teach me Your statutes.
Light and instruction asked for as one thing. The vocabulary of the first half is the vocabulary of the priestly blessing; the second half turns that light into a lesson, and the word is chuqqim.
136
פַּלְגֵי מַיִם יָרְדוּ עֵינָי
עַל לֹא שָׁמְרוּ תוֹרָתֶךָ
פַּלְגֵי
pal-GEI
streams of
Streams of water run down from my eyes,
שָׁמְרוּ
sham-RU
they have kept
תוֹרָתֶךָ
to-ra-te-CHA
Your teaching
because they have not kept Your teaching.
The subject of the failing verb is an unnamed they, never identified. The weeping is not over the speaker's own trouble, which is what makes this verse unusual in a psalm otherwise spoken in the first person. Torah.
137
צַדִּיק אַתָּה יְהֹוָה
וְיָשָׁר מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ
You are righteous, O LORD,
וְיָשָׁר
ve-ya-SHAR
and upright
מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ
mish-pa-tei-CHA
are Your judgments
and Your judgments are upright.
The tzade stanza opens by conceding the verdict before any request is made. Both halves are verbless clauses, an adjective set beside a noun, which is how Hebrew states what simply is the case. Mishpatim.
138
צִוִּיתָ צֶדֶק עֵדֹתֶיךָ
וֶאֱמוּנָה מְאֹד
צִוִּיתָ
tzi-vi-TA
You have commanded
צֶדֶק
TZE-dek
righteousness
עֵדֹתֶיךָ
e-do-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
You have commanded Your testimonies in righteousness,
וֶאֱמוּנָה
ve-e-mu-NA
and faithfulness
and in great faithfulness.
The testimonies are not described here, they are commanded: the verb makes them an act performed rather than a document held. Righteousness and faithfulness are the manner of the commanding, not properties of the text. Edot.
139
צִמְּתַתְנִי קִנְאָתִי
כִּי שָׁכְחוּ דְבָרֶיךָ צָרָי
צִמְּתַתְנִי
tzim-tat-NI
has consumed me
My zeal has consumed me,
שָׁכְחוּ
shach-CHU
they have forgotten
דְבָרֶיךָ
dva-rei-CHA
Your words
because my foes have forgotten Your words.
The damage is self-inflicted and the cause is other people. Zeal is the subject of the verb and the speaker is its object, which is a precise way of saying that caring about this is costing him. Devarim.
140
צְרוּפָה אִמְרָתְךָ מְאֹד
וְעַבְדְּךָ אֲהֵבָהּ
צְרוּפָה
tze-ru-FA
is refined
אִמְרָתְךָ
im-rat-CHA
Your word
Your word is refined through and through,
וְעַבְדְּךָ
ve-av-de-CHA
and Your servant
and Your servant loves it.
The image is metallurgical: the participle is what is done to silver in a crucible. The love in the second half follows from the testing, not from sentiment. The suffix on the last verb is feminine, agreeing with imrah.
141
צָעִיר אָנֹכִי וְנִבְזֶה
פִּקֻּדֶיךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי
וְנִבְזֶה
ve-niv-ZE
and despised
I am small and despised,
פִּקֻּדֶיךָ
pi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
שָׁכָחְתִּי
sha-chach-TI
I have forgotten
yet I have not forgotten Your precepts.
Social standing on one side, memory on the other, joined without any word for yet: the contrast is carried by juxtaposition alone. The same denial of forgetting will close the whole psalm. Piqqudim.
142
צִדְקָתְךָ צֶדֶק לְעוֹלָם
וְתוֹרָתְךָ אֱמֶת
צִדְקָתְךָ
tzid-kat-CHA
Your righteousness
צֶדֶק
TZE-dek
is righteousness
Your righteousness is righteousness forever,
וְתוֹרָתְךָ
ve-to-rat-CHA
and Your teaching
and Your teaching is truth.
Four nouns and no verb in the entire verse. Nothing is claimed about what Torah does; two identities are asserted and left standing. Torah, paired with the abstract noun for truth.
143
צַר וּמָצוֹק מְצָאוּנִי
מִצְוֺתֶיךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי
וּמָצוֹק
u-ma-TZOK
and anguish
מְצָאוּנִי
me-tza-u-NI
have found me
Distress and anguish have found me,
מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
mitz-o-tei-CHA
Your commandments
שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי
sha-a-shu-AI
are my delight
yet Your commandments are my delight.
The tzade sounds crowd together in the first half, three words in a row built on the same consonant, so the line sounds pinched before it says it is. The word for delight returns at verse 174. Mitzvot.
144
צֶדֶק עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ לְעוֹלָם
הֲבִינֵנִי וְאֶחְיֶה
עֵדְוֺתֶיךָ
ed-o-tei-CHA
are Your testimonies
Your testimonies are righteous forever;
הֲבִינֵנִי
ha-vi-ne-NI
give me understanding
וְאֶחְיֶה
ve-ech-YE
that I may live
give me understanding, that I may live.
The stanza ends by turning its own statement into a demand. What is true forever is no use until it is understood, and understanding is set as the condition of living, not its reward. Edot.
145
קָרָאתִי בְכׇל לֵב
עֲנֵנִי יְהֹוָה
חֻקֶּיךָ אֶצֹּרָה
קָרָאתִי
ka-ra-TI
I have called
I have called with my whole heart;
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
אֶצֹּרָה
e-tzo-RA
I will guard
I will keep Your statutes.
The qof stanza is built on the root for calling and the root for drawing near, and this is the first of two consecutive verses whose opening verb is a call. Note that the object comes before its verb in the last two words. Chuqqim.
146
קְרָאתִיךָ הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי
וְאֶשְׁמְרָה עֵדֹתֶיךָ
קְרָאתִיךָ
kra-ti-CHA
I have called You
הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי
ho-shi-e-NI
save me
I have called You: save me,
וְאֶשְׁמְרָה
ve-esh-MRA
and I will keep
עֵדֹתֶיךָ
e-do-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
and I will keep Your testimonies.
Four words, one of the four shortest verses in the psalm. The object suffix on the first verb means the call is already addressed before anything is asked for. Edot, and the same promise clause as verse 134.
147
קִדַּמְתִּי בַנֶּשֶׁף וָאֲשַׁוֵּעָה
לִדְבָרְךָ יִחָלְתִּי
קִדַּמְתִּי
ki-dam-TI
I came before
בַנֶּשֶׁף
va-NE-shef
in the twilight
וָאֲשַׁוֵּעָה
va-a-sha-ve-A
and I cried out
I was up before dawn and cried out;
לִדְבָרְךָ
lid-var-CHA
for Your word
יִחָלְתִּי
yi-chal-TI
I have hoped
I have hoped in Your word.
The verb does not mean to rise early, it means to get ahead of something, and what is outrun here is the daybreak. This is the only time stamp in the stanza. Davar.
148
קִדְּמוּ עֵינַי אַשְׁמֻרוֹת
לָשִׂיחַ בְּאִמְרָתֶךָ
קִדְּמוּ
kid-MU
they came before
אַשְׁמֻרוֹת
ash-mu-ROT
the watches of the night
My eyes got ahead of the night watches,
לָשִׂיחַ
la-SI-ach
to meditate
בְּאִמְרָתֶךָ
be-im-ra-te-CHA
on Your word
to meditate on Your word.
The same verb as the previous verse, now with the eyes as its subject rather than the whole person. The purpose is given by an infinitive, which is rare here: most verses state a promise instead. Imrah.
149
קוֹלִי שִׁמְעָה כְחַסְדֶּךָ יְהֹוָה
כְּמִשְׁפָּטֶךָ חַיֵּנִי
כְחַסְדֶּךָ
che-chas-de-CHA
according to Your kindness
Hear my voice according to Your kindness, O LORD;
כְּמִשְׁפָּטֶךָ
kmish-pa-te-CHA
according to Your justice
חַיֵּנִי
cha-ye-NI
revive me
according to Your justice, revive me.
Two matched ke- prefixes set the measure of the request, first covenant kindness and then legal judgment, as if either standard would do. Revive me runs four times through this last quarter of the psalm. Mishpat.
150
קָרְבוּ רֹדְפֵי זִמָּה
מִתּוֹרָתְךָ רָחָקוּ
קָרְבוּ
kar-VU
they have drawn near
רֹדְפֵי
rod-FEI
the pursuers of
Those who chase after scheming have drawn near;
מִתּוֹרָתְךָ
mi-to-rat-CHA
from Your teaching
רָחָקוּ
ra-cha-KU
they are far
they are far from Your teaching.
Near and far in one line, and the two verbs sit at opposite ends of the verse so the distance is visible on the page. This sets the trap the next verse springs. Torah.
151
קָרוֹב אַתָּה יְהֹוָה
וְכׇל מִצְוֺתֶיךָ אֱמֶת
מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
mitz-o-tei-CHA
Your commandments
and all Your commandments are truth.
The answer to the previous verse reuses its adjective: the pursuers are near, and so is God, and the psalm lets the two nearnesses stand side by side without ranking them. Mitzvot.
152
קֶדֶם יָדַעְתִּי מֵעֵדֹתֶיךָ
כִּי לְעוֹלָם יְסַדְתָּם
יָדַעְתִּי
ya-da-TI
I have known
מֵעֵדֹתֶיךָ
me-e-do-tei-CHA
from Your testimonies
Long ago I learned from Your testimonies
יְסַדְתָּם
ye-sad-TAM
You founded them
that You founded them forever.
The testimonies are the source of the knowledge and also its object, so the claim is self-supporting by design. The closing verb is the one used for laying a foundation. Edot.
153
רְאֵה עׇנְיִי וְחַלְּצֵנִי
כִּי תוֹרָתְךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי
עׇנְיִי
on-YI
my affliction
וְחַלְּצֵנִי
ve-chal-tze-NI
and rescue me
See my affliction and rescue me,
תוֹרָתְךָ
to-rat-CHA
Your teaching
שָׁכָחְתִּי
sha-chach-TI
I have forgotten
for I have not forgotten Your teaching.
The resh stanza opens with an imperative of looking, and the same imperative opens verse 159, bracketing the stanza. The ground offered is memory rather than merit. Torah.
154
רִיבָה רִיבִי וּגְאָלֵנִי
לְאִמְרָתְךָ חַיֵּנִי
וּגְאָלֵנִי
ug-a-le-NI
and redeem me
Argue my case and redeem me;
לְאִמְרָתְךָ
le-im-rat-CHA
according to Your word
חַיֵּנִי
cha-ye-NI
revive me
revive me according to Your word.
A verb and its own noun stacked together, the construction Hebrew uses to say plead the plea. The vocabulary is a lawsuit in the first half and a family redeemer in the second. Imrah, first of three groundings for revive me in this stanza.
155
רָחוֹק מֵרְשָׁעִים יְשׁוּעָה
כִּי חֻקֶּיךָ לֹא דָרָשׁוּ
מֵרְשָׁעִים
mer-sha-IM
from the wicked
יְשׁוּעָה
ye-shu-A
is salvation
Salvation is far from the wicked,
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
דָרָשׁוּ
da-ra-SHU
they have sought
for they have not sought Your statutes.
The far and near pairing from verse 150 returns, now applied to rescue rather than to people. The distance is presented as a consequence of not seeking, not as a punishment imposed. Chuqqim.
156
רַחֲמֶיךָ רַבִּים יְהֹוָה
כְּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ חַיֵּנִי
רַחֲמֶיךָ
ra-cha-mei-CHA
Your compassions
Your compassions are many, O LORD;
כְּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ
kmish-pa-tei-CHA
according to Your judgments
חַיֵּנִי
cha-ye-NI
revive me
revive me according to Your judgments.
Second of the three revive me requests in this stanza, and each one names a different measure: word here becomes judgments, and will become kindness at verse 159. Mishpatim.
157
רַבִּים רֹדְפַי וְצָרָי
מֵעֵדְוֺתֶיךָ לֹא נָטִיתִי
רֹדְפַי
rod-FAI
are my pursuers
וְצָרָי
ve-tza-RAI
and my foes
My pursuers and my foes are many,
מֵעֵדְוֺתֶיךָ
me-ed-o-tei-CHA
from Your testimonies
נָטִיתִי
na-ti-TI
I have turned aside
yet I have not turned aside from Your testimonies.
Many is the first word of this verse and the second word of the last one, so mercies and persecutors are counted with the same adjective. The verb is spatial: not turning off a road. Edot.
158
רָאִיתִי בֹגְדִים וָאֶתְקוֹטָטָה
אֲשֶׁר אִמְרָתְךָ לֹא שָׁמָרוּ
וָאֶתְקוֹטָטָה
va-et-ko-ta-TA
and I contended
I saw traitors and I contended with them,
אִמְרָתְךָ
im-rat-CHA
Your word
שָׁמָרוּ
sha-ma-RU
they kept
because they did not keep Your word.
The middle verb is rare and its force is disputed: translations divide between quarrelling with them and being sickened by them. Either way the reaction is provoked by watching, not by being harmed. Imrah.
159
רְאֵה כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ אָהָבְתִּי
יְהֹוָה כְּחַסְדְּךָ חַיֵּנִי
פִקּוּדֶיךָ
fi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
אָהָבְתִּי
a-hav-TI
I have loved
See how I love Your precepts;
כְּחַסְדְּךָ
ke-chas-de-CHA
according to Your kindness
חַיֵּנִי
cha-ye-NI
revive me
O LORD, revive me according to Your kindness.
The look demanded at verse 153 is demanded again, closing the stanza, but now what is to be looked at is affection rather than affliction. Third revive me, this one measured by chesed. Piqqudim.
160
רֹאשׁ דְּבָרְךָ אֱמֶת
וּלְעוֹלָם כׇּל מִשְׁפַּט צִדְקֶךָ
דְּבָרְךָ
dvar-CHA
Your word
The sum of Your word is truth,
וּלְעוֹלָם
ul-o-LAM
and forever
מִשְׁפַּט
mish-PAT
judgment of
צִדְקֶךָ
tzid-ke-CHA
Your righteousness
and every judgment of Your righteousness stands forever.
The first noun means head, and readers split over whether it points to the beginning of the word or to its total. Both readings are defended; the psalm does not settle it. Davar closing a stanza that began with Torah.
161
שָׂרִים רְדָפוּנִי חִנָּם
וּמִדְּבָרְךָ פָּחַד לִבִּי
רְדָפוּנִי
re-da-fu-NI
have pursued me
חִנָּם
chi-NAM
without cause
Princes have hunted me without cause,
וּמִדְּבָרְךָ
u-mid-var-CHA
but at Your word
פָּחַד
pa-CHAD
stands in dread
but my heart dreads Your word.
The stanza opens by moving fear off its obvious target. Powerful men are chasing him and the thing his heart shakes at is a word. Davar, with the prefix meaning at or because of.
162
שָׂשׂ אָנֹכִי עַל אִמְרָתֶךָ
כְּמוֹצֵא שָׁלָל רָב
אִמְרָתֶךָ
im-ra-te-CHA
Your word
I rejoice over Your word
כְּמוֹצֵא
kmo-TZE
like one who finds
like one who finds great spoil.
The only simile in this stretch of the psalm, and it is taken from the battlefield: plunder found after the fighting, not wages earned. Great returns as the first adjective of verse 165. Imrah.
163
שֶׁקֶר שָׂנֵאתִי וַאֲתַעֵבָה
תּוֹרָתְךָ אָהָבְתִּי
שָׂנֵאתִי
sa-ne-TI
I have hated
וַאֲתַעֵבָה
va-a-ta-e-VA
and I abhor
Falsehood I hate and abhor;
תּוֹרָתְךָ
to-rat-CHA
Your teaching
אָהָבְתִּי
a-hav-TI
I have loved
Your teaching I love.
Both halves put the object first and the verb second, so the sentence turns on the pivot between two hate verbs and one love verb. Nothing is asked for in this verse. Torah.
164
שֶׁבַע בַּיּוֹם הִלַּלְתִּיךָ
עַל מִשְׁפְּטֵי צִדְקֶךָ
הִלַּלְתִּיךָ
hi-lal-ti-CHA
I have praised You
Seven times a day I have praised You,
מִשְׁפְּטֵי
mish-PTEI
the judgments of
צִדְקֶךָ
tzid-ke-CHA
Your righteousness
for the judgments of Your righteousness.
The only counted quantity in the stanza, and the number has been read both as a literal tally and as a round figure for completeness. The last two words are a chain of two nouns, judgments belonging to righteousness. Mishpatim.
165
שָׁלוֹם רָב לְאֹהֲבֵי תוֹרָתֶךָ
וְאֵין לָמוֹ מִכְשׁוֹל
לְאֹהֲבֵי
le-o-ha-VEI
to those who love
תוֹרָתֶךָ
to-ra-te-CHA
Your teaching
Great peace belongs to those who love Your teaching,
וְאֵין
ve-EIN
and there is no
מִכְשׁוֹל
mich-SHOL
stumbling block
and nothing makes them stumble.
The word for them here is an archaic poetic form, not the ordinary one, which is part of why this line reads as a formula rather than a report. The noun for stumbling block occurs only here in the psalm. Torah.
166
שִׂבַּרְתִּי לִישׁוּעָתְךָ יְהֹוָה
וּמִצְוֺתֶיךָ עָשִׂיתִי
שִׂבַּרְתִּי
si-bar-TI
I have hoped
לִישׁוּעָתְךָ
li-shu-at-CHA
for Your salvation
I have waited for Your salvation, O LORD,
וּמִצְוֺתֶיךָ
u-mitz-o-tei-CHA
and Your commandments
עָשִׂיתִי
a-si-TI
I have done
and I have done Your commandments.
Waiting and acting reported in the same tense, side by side, with no suggestion that one is preparation for the other. The verb for hoping is uncommon. Mitzvot.
167
שָׁמְרָה נַפְשִׁי עֵדֹתֶיךָ
וָאֹהֲבֵם מְאֹד
עֵדֹתֶיךָ
e-do-tei-CHA
Your testimonies
My soul has kept Your testimonies,
וָאֹהֲבֵם
va-o-ha-VEM
and I love them
and I love them very much.
The keeping is credited to the nefesh rather than to the speaker, which puts the obedience below the level of decision. The plural object suffix on the love verb points back to the testimonies. Edot.
168
שָׁמַרְתִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ וְעֵדֹתֶיךָ
כִּי כׇל דְּרָכַי נֶגְדֶּךָ
שָׁמַרְתִּי
sha-mar-TI
I have kept
פִקּוּדֶיךָ
fi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
וְעֵדֹתֶיךָ
ve-e-do-tei-CHA
and Your testimonies
I have kept Your precepts and Your testimonies,
דְּרָכַי
de-ra-CHAI
my ways
נֶגְדֶּךָ
neg-de-CHA
are before You
for all my ways are in front of You.
Two of the eight Torah words share one clause here, piqqudim and edot joined by a conjunction rather than split across the two halves. The reason given for obeying is being watched, not being rewarded.
169
תִּקְרַב רִנָּתִי לְפָנֶיךָ יְהֹוָה
כִּדְבָרְךָ הֲבִינֵנִי
תִּקְרַב
tik-RAV
let it come near
לְפָנֶיךָ
le-fa-nei-CHA
before You
Let my cry come near before You, O LORD;
כִּדְבָרְךָ
kid-var-CHA
according to Your word
הֲבִינֵנִי
ha-vi-ne-NI
give me understanding
give me understanding according to Your word.
The tav stanza is almost entirely jussive: let this happen, let that happen. The verb for drawing near is the one from the qof stanza, now applied to the speaker's own shout. Davar.
170
תָּבוֹא תְחִנָּתִי לְפָנֶיךָ
כְּאִמְרָתְךָ הַצִּילֵנִי
תְחִנָּתִי
te-chi-na-TI
my supplication
לְפָנֶיךָ
le-fa-nei-CHA
before You
Let my plea come before You;
כְּאִמְרָתְךָ
ke-im-rat-CHA
according to Your word
הַצִּילֵנִי
ha-tzi-le-NI
deliver me
deliver me according to Your word.
Built on the same frame as the verse before it, with imrah swapped in for davar and rescue asked for instead of understanding. The pairing of the two synonyms across adjacent verses is deliberate.
171
תַּבַּעְנָה שְׂפָתַי תְּהִלָּה
כִּי תְלַמְּדֵנִי חֻקֶּיךָ
תַּבַּעְנָה
ta-ba-NA
let them pour forth
Let my lips pour out praise,
תְלַמְּדֵנִי
te-lam-de-NI
You teach me
חֻקֶּיךָ
chu-kei-CHA
Your statutes
for You teach me Your statutes.
The opening verb is used of a spring bubbling up, so the praise is asked for as something involuntary. Teaching is stated as ongoing rather than requested. Chuqqim.
172
תַּעַן לְשׁוֹנִי אִמְרָתֶךָ
כִּי כׇל מִצְוֺתֶיךָ צֶּדֶק
לְשׁוֹנִי
le-sho-NI
my tongue
אִמְרָתֶךָ
im-ra-te-CHA
Your word
Let my tongue answer with Your word,
מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
mitz-o-tei-CHA
Your commandments
צֶּדֶק
TZE-dek
are righteousness
for all Your commandments are righteousness.
The verb can mean answer or sing out, and both senses are in play here. Lips in the previous verse, tongue in this one: the organs of speech are asked for one at a time. Imrah and mitzvot in the same verse.
173
תְּהִי יָדְךָ לְעׇזְרֵנִי
כִּי פִקּוּדֶיךָ בָחָרְתִּי
לְעׇזְרֵנִי
le-oz-re-NI
to help me
Let Your hand be there to help me,
פִקּוּדֶיךָ
fi-ku-dei-CHA
Your precepts
בָחָרְתִּי
va-char-TI
I have chosen
for I have chosen Your precepts.
The ground offered is an act of will, and the verb for choosing appears only twice in the whole psalm, here and at verse 30. Everywhere else the speaker pleads memory or love instead. Piqqudim.
174
תָּאַבְתִּי לִישׁוּעָתְךָ יְהֹוָה
וְתוֹרָתְךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי
תָּאַבְתִּי
ta-av-TI
I have longed
לִישׁוּעָתְךָ
li-shu-at-CHA
for Your salvation
I have longed for Your salvation, O LORD,
וְתוֹרָתְךָ
ve-to-rat-CHA
and Your teaching
שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי
sha-a-shu-AI
is my delight
and Your teaching is my delight.
Salvation echoes verse 166 and delight echoes verse 143, so the last stanza is gathering its own earlier vocabulary. Longing is stated as a completed act. Torah.
175
תְּחִי נַפְשִׁי וּתְהַלְלֶךָּ
וּמִשְׁפָּטֶךָ יַעְזְרֻנִי
וּתְהַלְלֶךָּ
ut-hal-le-KA
and let it praise You
Let my soul live, and let it praise You,
וּמִשְׁפָּטֶךָ
u-mish-pa-te-CHA
and Your judgments
יַעְזְרֻנִי
ya-ze-ru-NI
let them help me
and let Your judgments help me.
Living is asked for with a purpose attached, which is unusual: the request is not to survive but to be able to say something. In the second half the judgments become the agents of the help. Mishpatim.
176
תָּעִיתִי כְּשֶׂה אֹבֵד
בַּקֵּשׁ עַבְדֶּךָ
כִּי מִצְוֺתֶיךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְתִּי
תָּעִיתִי
ta-i-TI
I have strayed
I have strayed like a lost sheep;
עַבְדֶּךָ
av-de-CHA
Your servant
seek out Your servant,
מִצְוֺתֶיךָ
mitz-o-tei-CHA
Your commandments
שָׁכָחְתִּי
sha-chach-TI
I have forgotten
for I have not forgotten Your commandments.
One hundred and seventy five verses of keeping, and the last one admits to being lost. The imperative asks God to do the searching, and the final clause is the same denial of forgetting used at verses 141 and 153. Mitzvot.