They almost destroyed me on earth, But as for me, I did not abandon Your precepts.
Parallel translations
- WEB They had almost wiped me from the earth, but I didn’t forsake your precepts.
- KJV They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts.
- BSB They almost wiped me from the earth, but I have not forsaken Your precepts.
- NKJV They almost made an end of me on earth, But I did not forsake Your precepts.
- NLT They almost finished me off, but I refused to abandon 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
His enemies nearly destroyed him, yet he did not abandon God's precepts. Faithfulness held firm even at the brink of ruin.
Overview
The psalmist testifies that he was brought to the very edge of destruction by his foes. Even so, he refused to forsake God's precepts, showing that his loyalty to the word outweighed his fear of death. This perseverance under deadly pressure prefigures the steadfastness Christ commends, that those who endure to the end are preserved (Matt. 10:22; Rom. 8:35-37).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Matt 10:28Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
- Ps 119:61The ropes of the wicked bind me, but I won’t forget your law.
- Isa 58:2Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways. As a nation that did righteousness, and didn’t forsake the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments. They delight to draw near to God.
- Ps 119:51The arrogant mock me excessively, but I don’t swerve from your law.
- 1 Sam 26:24Behold, as your life was respected today in my eyes, so let my life be respected in Yahweh’s eyes, and let him deliver me out of all oppression.”
- 1 Sam 23:26–27Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain; and David hurried to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men surrounded David and his men to take them.
- 1 Sam 26:9David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against Yahweh’s anointed, and be guiltless?”
- 2 Sam 17:16Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, ‘Don’t lodge tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people who are with him.’”
- 1 Sam 24:6–7He said to his men, “Yahweh forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, Yahweh’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is Yahweh’s anointed.”
- 1 Sam 20:3David swore moreover, and said, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes; and he says, ‘Don’t let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved:’ but truly as Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”
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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 119:87 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
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