I have treasured Your word in my heart, So that I may not sin against You.
Parallel translations
- WEB I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
- KJV Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
- BSB I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.
- NKJV Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.
- NLT I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Storing up God's word in the heart is a defense against sin. It matters because internalized Scripture shapes desires and decisions before temptation strikes.
Overview
The psalmist treasures God's word inwardly so that it actively guards him from sinning against the LORD. This is more than memorization; it is the word taking root and governing the heart. Such hidden treasure points to the gospel work of the Spirit, who writes God's law within and conforms believers to Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 37:31The law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps shall slide.
- Col 3:16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.
- Ps 40:8I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart.”
- Jer 15:16Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words were to me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart, for I am called by your name, Yahweh, God of Armies.
- Ps 1:2but his delight is in Yahweh’s law. On his law he meditates day and night.
- Job 22:22Please receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.
- Prov 2:10–11For wisdom will enter into your heart. Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
- Ps 119:97How I love your law! It is my meditation all day.
- Isa 51:7“Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law: Don’t fear the reproach of men, and don’t be dismayed at their insults.
- Prov 2:1My son, if you will receive my words, and store up my commandments within you;
- Luke 2:19But Mary kept all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.
- Ps 19:13Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I will be upright. I will be blameless and innocent of great transgression.
- Luke 2:51And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth. He was subject to them, and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 119:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.