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The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver. YUD
Psalms 119:72 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.
  • BSB The law from Your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
  • NKJV The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of coins of gold and silver. י Yod
  • NASB The Law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces. Yodh
  • NLT Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver. Yodh

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

God's law is more precious to the psalmist than thousands of gold and silver pieces. It matters because Scripture's worth surpasses all material wealth.

Overview

Closing the Teth stanza, the psalmist values the law from God's mouth above vast riches. The word is his supreme treasure, outweighing any earthly fortune. This esteem for God's word anticipates the surpassing worth of Christ Himself, the Word made flesh, beside whom all else is counted loss.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Prov 8:10–11Receive my instruction rather than silver; knowledge rather than choice gold.
  • Ps 19:10More to be desired are they than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb.
  • Ps 119:127Therefore I love your commandments more than gold, yes, more than pure gold.
  • Prov 16:16How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! Yes, to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
  • Ps 119:162I rejoice at your word, as one who finds great plunder.
  • Matt 13:44–46“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
  • Prov 8:19My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold; my yield than choice silver.
  • Ps 119:14I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies, as much as in all riches.
  • Ps 119:111I have taken your testimonies as a heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
  • Prov 3:14–15For her good profit is better than getting silver, and her return is better than fine gold.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

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 119:72YouTube · 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 119:72 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.