Turn away the disgrace I dread, for Your judgments are good.
Parallel translations
- WEB Take away my disgrace that I dread, for your ordinances are good.
- KJV Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good.
- NKJV Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your judgments are good.
- NASB Take away my disgrace which I dread, For Your judgments are good.
- NLT Help me abandon my shameful ways; for your regulations are good.
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 asks God to remove the reproach he dreads, since God's judgments are good. It matters because trusting in the goodness of God's word brings deliverance from feared disgrace.
Overview
Fearing reproach, the psalmist appeals to the goodness of God's ordinances as the ground for being spared it. He trusts that God's good judgments will not leave him in shame. This confidence is secured in the gospel, where Christ bears our reproach so that those who trust Him are freed from condemnation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Ps 119:22Remove my scorn and contempt, for I have kept Your testimonies.
- Titus 2:8and wholesome speech that is above reproach, so that anyone who opposes us will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us.
- 1 Tim 3:7Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the snare of the devil.
- Rom 2:2And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.
- Rev 19:2For His judgments are true and just. He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His servants that was poured out by her hand.”
- Ps 57:3He reaches down from heaven and saves me; He rebukes those who trample me. Selah God sends forth His loving devotion and His truth.
- Ps 39:8Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the reproach of fools.
- Ps 119:43Never take Your word of truth from my mouth, for I hope in Your judgments.
- Ps 19:9The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true, being altogether righteous.
- Deut 4:8And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?
- Isa 26:8Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.
- Ps 119:131I open my mouth and pant, longing for Your commandments.
- 2 Sam 12:14Nevertheless, because by this deed you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD, the son born to you will surely die.”
- Ps 119:75I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
- 1 Tim 5:14So I advise the younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their households, denying the adversary occasion for slander.
- Ps 119:20My soul is consumed with longing for Your judgments at all times.
- Ps 119:31I cling to Your testimonies, O LORD; let me not be put to shame.
- Ps 119:123My eyes fail, looking for Your salvation, and for Your righteous promise.
Resources, by level
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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 119:39 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
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