Limitless Word
My zeal has consumed me because my foes forget Your words.
Psalms 119:139 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB My zeal wears me out, because my enemies ignore your words.
  • KJV My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.
  • NKJV My zeal has consumed me, Because my enemies have forgotten Your words.
  • NASB My zeal has consumed me, Because my enemies have forgotten Your words.
  • NLT I am overwhelmed with indignation, for my enemies have disregarded your words.

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

His zeal consumes him because his enemies ignore God's words. Passion for God's honor wearies him when others disregard the word.

Overview

The psalmist is worn out by a burning zeal, grieved that his adversaries forget and neglect God's words. His distress arises from love for God's truth and indignation at its dishonor. This consuming zeal for God's house and word foreshadows Christ, of whom it was written that zeal for God's house consumed Him (John 2:17; Ps. 69:9).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 14

  • John 2:17His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.”
  • Ps 69:9because zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.
  • 1 Kgs 19:10“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
  • Acts 13:27The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.
  • Matt 15:4–6For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
  • Matt 12:3–5Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?
  • Acts 28:23–27So they set a day to meet with Paul, and many people came to the place he was staying. He expounded to them from morning to evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and persuading them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.
  • Matt 21:16“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked. “Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read: ‘From the mouths of children and infants You have ordained praise’?”
  • 1 Kgs 19:14“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
  • Ps 53:4Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon God.
  • Matt 21:42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
  • Matt 9:13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
  • Matt 21:13And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
  • Matt 22:29Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 119:139YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 119:139 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.