I am a friend to all who fear You, and to those who keep Your precepts.
Parallel translations
- WEB I am a friend of all those who fear you, of those who observe your precepts.
- KJV I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.
- NKJV I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts.
- NASB I am a companion to all those who fear You, And to those who keep Your precepts.
- NLT I am a friend to anyone who fears you— anyone who obeys your commandments.
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 is a companion to all who fear God and keep His precepts. It matters because love for God's word draws believers into fellowship with other faithful people.
Overview
The psalmist identifies with all who fear the LORD and obey His precepts, counting them his friends. Shared reverence for God's word forms the bond of true community. This anticipates the fellowship of the church, the family of God gathered around Christ and His word.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 101:6My eyes favor the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way of integrity shall minister to me.
- Prov 13:20He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
- Mal 3:16–18At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD and honored His name.
- 1 Jn 1:3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
- Ps 119:79May those who fear You turn to me, those who know Your testimonies.
- Ps 142:7Free my soul from prison, that I may praise Your name. The righteous will gather around me because of Your goodness to me.
- Ps 119:115Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may obey the commandments of my God.
- Ps 16:3As for the saints in the land, they are the excellence in whom all my delight resides.
- 1 Jn 3:14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.
- 2 Cor 6:14–17Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 119:63 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.