I cry out to you; rescue me, that I may obey your laws.
Parallel translations
- WEB I have called to you. Save me! I will obey your statutes.
- KJV I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.
- BSB I call to You; save me, that I may keep Your testimonies.
- NKJV I cry out to You; Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies.
- NASB I cried to You; save me And I shall keep Your testimonies.
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
He calls on God to save him and promises to obey His statutes. Salvation and obedience are joined: rescued by God, the psalmist commits to follow Him.
Overview
The plea 'Save me!' shows the psalmist depends entirely on God's deliverance, not his own strength. His pledge to obey is not the ground of his rescue but its fitting fruit, a pattern fulfilled in the gospel where those saved by grace are freed to keep God's commands. Salvation is God's gift; obedience is the grateful response.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Titus 2:14who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works.
- Ps 119:134Redeem me from the oppression of man, so I will observe your precepts.
- Judg 10:15–16The children of Israel said to Yahweh, “We have sinned! Do you to us whatever seems good to you; only deliver us, please, today.”
- Matt 1:21She shall give birth to a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”
- Titus 3:4–8But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared,
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 119:146 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.