18:23 I was innocent before him,
and kept myself from sinning. 1
119:52 I remember your ancient regulations, 2
O Lord, and console myself. 3
1 tn Heb “from my sin,” that is, from making it my own in any way.
sn Kept myself from sinning. Leading a blameless life meant that the king would be loyal to God’s covenant, purge the government and society of evil and unjust officials, and reward loyalty to the Lord (see Ps 101).
2 tn Heb “I remember your regulations from of old.” The prepositional phrase “from of old” apparently modifies “your regulations,” alluding to the fact that God revealed them to Israel in the distant past. Another option is to understand the prepositional phrase as modifying the verb, in which case one might translate, “I have long remembered your regulations.”
3 tn Or “find comfort.”