I am lowly and despised, but I do not forget Your precepts.
Parallel translations
- WEB I am small and despised. I don’t forget your precepts.
- KJV I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.
- NKJV I am small and despised, Yet I do not forget Your precepts.
- NASB I am small and despised, Yet I do not forget Your precepts.
- NLT I am insignificant and despised, but I don’t forget your commandments.
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
Though small and despised, he does not forget God's precepts. Lowliness and contempt do not weaken his fidelity to the word.
Overview
The psalmist acknowledges his lowly and despised condition in the eyes of others, yet he holds fast to God's precepts. His outward insignificance does not diminish his inward devotion. This faithfulness in humble circumstances reflects Christ, who though despised and rejected kept the Father's word perfectly (Isa. 53:3; John 8:55).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 22:6But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
- 2 Cor 8:9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
- Jas 2:5Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- Luke 9:58Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
- Luke 6:20Looking up at His disciples, Jesus said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
- Prov 16:8Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.
- Ps 119:109I constantly take my life in my hands, yet I do not forget Your law.
- Prov 3:1My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
- Prov 15:16Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
- Ps 40:17But I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my helper and deliverer; O my God, do not delay.
- Isa 53:3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
- Prov 19:1Better a poor man who walks with integrity than a fool whose lips are perverse.
- Ps 119:176I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.
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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 119:141 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.