May my cry come before You, O LORD; give me understanding according to Your word.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let my cry come before you, Yahweh. Give me understanding according to your word.
- KJV Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word.
- NKJV Let my cry come before You, O Lord; Give me understanding according to Your word.
- NASB ¶Let my cry come before You, Lord; Give me understanding according to Your word.
- NLT O Lord, listen to my cry; give me the discerning mind you promised.
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 asks that his cry reach God and that God grant understanding according to His word. He seeks both a hearing and insight from God.
Overview
Opening the final 'Tav' stanza, the psalmist prays that his cry would 'come before' God and that God would give understanding shaped by His Word. He wants not merely to be heard but to be taught. This longing for God-given understanding is met as the Spirit illumines Scripture to those who are in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Jas 1:5Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Ps 119:144–145Your testimonies are righteous forever. Give me understanding, that I may live.
- Prov 2:3–5if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,
- Ps 18:6In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.
- 2 Chr 1:10Now grant me wisdom and knowledge, so that I may lead this people. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”
- 1 Chr 22:12Above all, may the LORD give you insight and understanding when He puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the Law of the LORD your God.
- 2 Chr 30:27Then the priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard their voice, and their prayer came into His holy dwelling place in heaven.
- Dan 2:21He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
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 119:169 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.