My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.
Parallel translations
- WEB Streams of tears run down my eyes, because they don’t observe your law. TZADI
- KJV Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
- NKJV Rivers of water run down from my eyes, Because men do not keep Your law. צ Tsadde
- NASB My eyes shed streams of water, Because they do not keep Your Law. Tsadhe
- NLT Rivers of tears gush from my eyes because people disobey your instructions. Tsadhe
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
Streams of tears run from his eyes because people do not keep God's law. He grieves deeply over others' disobedience.
Overview
Closing the PEY stanza, the psalmist weeps profusely over the widespread breaking of God's law. His sorrow is not for himself but for God's honor and the sin of others. This holy grief over sin reflects the heart of Christ, who wept over Jerusalem's hardness, and of the godly who mourn the dishonor done to God (Luke 19:41; Ezek. 9:4).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 9:1Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.
- Ezek 9:4“Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.”
- Jer 14:17You are to speak this word to them: ‘My eyes overflow with tears; day and night they do not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been shattered by a crushing blow, a severely grievous wound.
- Jer 9:18Let them come quickly and take up a lament over us, that our eyes may overflow with tears, and our eyelids may gush with water.
- 1 Sam 15:11“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.
- Ps 119:158I look on the faithless with loathing because they do not keep Your word.
- Ps 119:53Rage has taken hold of me because of the wicked who reject Your law.
- Luke 19:41As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it
- Rom 9:2–3I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
- Jer 13:17But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 119:136 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.