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I cling to Your testimonies; O Lord, do not put me to shame!
Psalms 119:31 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB I cling to your statutes, Yahweh. Don’t let me be disappointed.
  • KJV I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame.
  • BSB I cling to Your testimonies, O LORD; let me not be put to shame.
  • NASB I cling to Your testimonies; Lord, do not put me to shame!
  • NLT I cling to your laws. Lord, don’t let me be put to shame!

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

The psalmist clings to God's testimonies and pleads not to be put to shame. It matters because holding fast to God's word is the ground of confident hope before Him.

Overview

Gripping God's testimonies tightly, the psalmist asks the LORD not to let him be disgraced. His security rests in clinging to the word rather than his own strength. This hope of never being put to shame is guaranteed in Christ, in whom all who believe are vindicated and secure.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • Rom 5:5and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
  • John 8:31Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples.
  • Prov 23:23Buy the truth, and don’t sell it. Get wisdom, discipline, and understanding.
  • Acts 11:23who, when he had come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad. He exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they should remain near to the Lord.
  • Isa 45:17Israel will be saved by Yahweh with an everlasting salvation. You will not be disappointed nor confounded to ages everlasting.
  • 1 Jn 2:28Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
  • Ps 25:20Oh keep my soul, and deliver me. Let me not be disappointed, for I take refuge in you.
  • Ps 25:2My God, I have trusted in you. Don’t let me be shamed. Don’t let my enemies triumph over me.
  • Deut 4:4But you who were faithful to Yahweh your God are all alive today.
  • Ps 119:6Then I wouldn’t be disappointed, when I consider all of your commandments.
  • Ps 119:115Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.
  • Ps 119:80Let my heart be blameless toward your decrees, that I may not be disappointed. KAF
  • Ps 119:48I reach out my hands for your commandments, which I love. I will meditate on your statutes. ZAYIN
  • Jer 17:18Let them be disappointed who persecute me, but let not me be disappointed; let them be dismayed, but don’t let me be dismayed; bring on them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
  • Deut 11:22For if you shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cling to him;
  • Isa 49:23Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth, and lick the dust of your feet; Then you will know that I am Yahweh; and those who wait for me shall not be disappointed.”
  • Deut 10:20You shall fear Yahweh your God; you shall serve him; and you shall cling to him, and you shall swear by his name.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

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 119:31YouTube · 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 119:31 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.