Limitless Word
And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I have hoped in Your ordinances.
Psalms 119:43 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Don’t snatch the word of truth out of my mouth, for I put my hope in your ordinances.
  • KJV And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments.
  • BSB Never take Your word of truth from my mouth, for I hope in Your judgments.
  • NASB And do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I wait for Your judgments.
  • NLT Do not snatch your word of truth from me, for your regulations are my only hope.

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 that the word of truth not be taken from his mouth, for he hopes in God's judgments. It matters because faithful witness depends on continually holding God's truth.

Overview

The psalmist prays that he may never be left unable to speak God's truth, resting his hope in God's ordinances. He longs to keep confessing the word with confidence. This dependence on God to sustain a truthful witness is fulfilled in the gospel, where the Spirit emboldens believers to speak the word of truth about Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 15

  • Ps 9:4For you have maintained my just cause. You sit on the throne judging righteously.
  • 1 Pet 2:23Who, when he was cursed, didn’t curse back. When he suffered, didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously;
  • Eph 1:13in whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation — in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
  • Ps 119:175Let my soul live, that I may praise you. Let your ordinances help me.
  • Ps 71:17–18God, you have taught me from my youth. Until now, I have declared your wondrous works.
  • Ps 119:13With my lips, I have declared all the ordinances of your mouth.
  • Ps 119:52I remember your ordinances of old, Yahweh, and have comforted myself.
  • Jas 1:18Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
  • Ps 50:16But to the wicked God says, “What right do you have to declare my statutes, that you have taken my covenant on your lips,
  • Ps 7:6–9Arise, Yahweh, in your anger. Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries. Awake for me. You have commanded judgment.
  • Isa 59:21“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says Yahweh. “My Spirit who is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your offspring, nor out of the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says Yahweh, “from henceforth and forever.”
  • Ps 51:14–15Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation. My tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
  • Ps 9:16Yahweh has made himself known. He has executed judgment. The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah.
  • Ps 119:120My flesh trembles for fear of you. I am afraid of your judgments. AYIN
  • Ps 43:1Vindicate me, God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation. Oh, deliver me from deceitful and wicked men.

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 119:43YouTube · 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 119:43 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.