ב (Bet)
119:9 How can a young person 1 maintain a pure life? 2
By guarding it according to your instructions! 3
119:11 In my heart I store up 4 your words, 5
so I might not sin against you.
119:24 Yes, I find delight in your rules;
they give me guidance. 6
119:54 Your statutes have been my songs 7
in the house where I live. 8
מ (Mem)
119:97 O how I love your law!
All day long I meditate on it.
119:148 My eyes anticipate the nighttime hours,
so that I can meditate on your word.
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
4 tn Or “hide.”
5 tn Heb “your word.” Some medieval Hebrew
6 tn Heb “men of my counsel.” That is, God’s rules are like advisers to the psalmist, for they teach him how to live in a godly manner that refutes the accusations of his enemies.
7 tn Heb “songs were your statutes to me.”
8 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).