I delight in Your commandments because I love them.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will delight myself in your commandments, because I love them.
- KJV And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.
- NKJV And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love.
- NASB I will delight in Your commandments, Which I love.
- NLT How I delight in your commands! How I love them!
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 delights in God's commandments because he loves them. It matters because genuine obedience springs from love for God's word, not mere duty.
Overview
The psalmist takes delight in God's commandments, and that delight is rooted in love. Obedience that flows from affection is the heart of true godliness. Jesus likewise links love and obedience in the gospel, promising that those who love Him will keep His word.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Ps 119:48I lift up my hands to Your commandments, which I love, and I meditate on Your statutes.
- Ps 119:97Oh, how I love Your law! All day long it is my meditation.
- Ps 119:127Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, even the purest gold.
- Ps 19:7–10The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- John 4:34Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.
- Ps 119:16I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.
- Ps 119:174I long for Your salvation, O LORD, and Your law is my delight.
- Ps 119:140Your promise is completely pure; therefore Your servant loves it.
- Rom 7:22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law.
- Ps 119:167I obey Your testimonies and love them greatly.
- Job 23:11–12My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept His way without turning aside.
- Ps 112:1Hallelujah! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments.
- 1 Pet 2:21For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:
- Ps 119:24Your testimonies are indeed my delight; they are my counselors.
- Rom 7:12So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.
- Phil 2:5Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:
- Rom 7:16And if I do what I do not want to do, I admit that the law is good.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 119:47 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.