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The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true, being altogether righteous.
Psalms 19:9 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever. Yahweh’s ordinances are true, and righteous altogether.
  • KJV The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
  • NKJV The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
  • NASB The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
  • NLT Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.

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 fear of the Lord is clean and everlasting; his judgments are true and altogether righteous. God's Word and worship are pure and enduring.

Overview

David includes 'the fear of Yahweh', reverent devotion shaped by God's Word, as itself clean and eternal, and affirms that God's ordinances are entirely just. This completes a sixfold praise of Scripture's perfections (vv. 7-9). The flawless righteousness of God's law both reveals his holy character and exposes our need for the righteousness found in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 33

  • 1 Sam 12:24Above all, fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.
  • Ps 119:142Your righteousness is everlasting and Your law is true.
  • Ps 119:137–138Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments.
  • Ps 119:1Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the Law of the LORD.
  • Ps 34:11–14Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
  • Ps 115:13He will bless those who fear the LORD—small and great alike.
  • Ps 111:10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
  • Rev 15:3and they sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are Your works, O Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations!
  • Rev 16:7And I heard the altar reply: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are Your judgments.”
  • 1 Kgs 18:12I do not know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you off when I leave you. Then when I go and tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.
  • Deut 4:8And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?
  • Ps 10:5He is secure in his ways at all times; Your lofty judgments are far from him; he sneers at all his foes.
  • Gen 42:18and on the third day he said to them, “I fear God. So do this and you will live:
  • Ps 72:1–2Of Solomon. Endow the king with Your justice, O God, and the son of the king with Your righteousness.
  • Isa 26:8Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.
  • Exod 21:1“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them:
  • Ps 119:7I will praise You with an upright heart when I learn Your righteous judgments.
  • Rom 2:2And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.
  • Gen 22:12“Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.”
  • Rev 19:2For His judgments are true and just. He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His servants that was poured out by her hand.”
  • Ps 36:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes.
  • Neh 5:15The governors before me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them bread and wine plus forty shekels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people, but I did not do this because of my fear of God.
  • Ps 119:106I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments.
  • 1 Kgs 18:3–4and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,
  • Ps 36:6Your righteousness is like the highest mountains; Your judgments are like the deepest sea. O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
  • Rom 3:10–18As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one.
  • Acts 10:22“Cornelius the centurion has sent us,” they said. “He is a righteous and God-fearing man with a good reputation among the whole Jewish nation. A holy angel instructed him to request your presence in his home so he could hear a message from you.”
  • Ps 119:62At midnight I rise to give You thanks for Your righteous judgments.
  • Rom 11:22Take notice, therefore, of the kindness and severity of God: severity to those who fell, but kindness to you, if you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
  • Ps 119:39Turn away the disgrace I dread, for Your judgments are good.
  • Prov 8:13To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.
  • Ps 147:19He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and judgments to Israel.
  • Ps 119:75I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

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 19:9YouTube · 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 19:9 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.