My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.
Parallel translations
- WEB I reach out my hands for your commandments, which I love. I will meditate on your statutes. ZAYIN
- BSB I lift up my hands to Your commandments, which I love, and I meditate on Your statutes.
- NKJV My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love, And I will meditate on Your statutes. ז Zayin
- NASB And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, Which I love; And I will meditate on Your statutes. Zayin
- NLT I honor and love your commands. I meditate on your decrees. Zayin
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 lifts his hands to God's commandments, which he loves, and meditates on His statutes. It matters because love for God's word is expressed in worshipful devotion and reflection.
Overview
Closing the Zayin stanza, the psalmist reaches out toward God's beloved commandments and meditates on His statutes. His posture conveys eager longing and reverent devotion. This wholehearted love and meditation foreshadow the believer's delight in Christ, the living Word, embraced and treasured by faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Ps 119:15I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
- Ps 1:2But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
- Matt 7:21Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
- John 15:14Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
- John 13:17If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
- Jas 1:22–25But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
- Ezek 44:12Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity; therefore have I lifted up mine hand against them, saith the Lord GOD, and they shall bear their iniquity.
- Mic 5:9Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.
- Ps 10:12Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 119:48 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.