New King James Version
Psalms 119:109
109My life is continually in my hand, Yet I do not forget Your law.
Psalms 119:109 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.
- New International Version (NIV)Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget your law.
- English Standard Version (ESV)I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law.
- New Living Translation (NLT)My life constantly hangs in the balance, but I will not stop obeying your instructions.
Context of Psalms 119:109
107I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your word. 108Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O Lord, And teach me Your judgments. My life is continually in my hand, Yet I do not forget Your law. 110The wicked have laid a snare for me, Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts. 111Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, For they are the rejoicing of my heart.
Read all of Psalms 119Psalms 119:109 word by word
נַפְשִׁ֣י בְכַפִּ֣י תָמִ֑יד וְ֝תֽוֹרָתְךָ֗ לֹ֣א שָׁכָֽחְתִּי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Psalms 119:109
- Judges 12:3So when I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life in my hands and crossed over against the people of Ammon; and the Lord delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?”
- 1 Samuel 19:5For he took his life in his hands and killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?”
- 1 Samuel 20:3Then David took an oath again, and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”
- Job 13:14Why do I take my flesh in my teeth, And put my life in my hands?
- Romans 8:36As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:31I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
- 2 Corinthians 11:23Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.
- Psalms 119:83For I have become like a wineskin in smoke, Yet I do not forget Your statutes.
Commentaries on Psalms 119:109
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 109My soul is continually in my hand - נפשי naphshi, my life; that is, it is in constant danger, every hour I am on the confines of death. The expression signifies to be in continual danger. So Xenarchus in Athenaeus, lib. xiii., c. 4: ͅ , "having the life in the hand;" which signifies continual danger and jeopardy. There is some thing like this in the speech of Achilles to Ulysses, Hom. Il. ix., ver. 322: - · "Always presenting my life to the dangers of the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 109My soul is continually in my hand - The Septuagint renders this, “My soul is always in thy hands,” but the Hebrew will not admit of this construction. The idea in the original is that his soul - his life - was always in jeopardy. The expression seems to be proverbial. Anything taken in the hand is liable to be rudely snatched away. Thus a casket of jewels, or a purse of gold in the hand, may at any moment be seized by robbers. See the notes at Job 13:14…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 105-112Verses 105-112 The word of God directs us in our work and way, and a dark place indeed the world would be without it. The commandment is a lamp kept burning with the oil of the Spirit, as a light to direct us in the choice of our way, and the steps we take in that way. The keeping of God's commands here meant, was that of a sinner under a dispensation of mercy, of a believer having part in the covenant of grace. The psalmist is often afflicted; but with…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 108-112freewill offerings of my mouth: This Hebrew expression is unique in the Old Testament (compare Psalm 50:23). The psalmist is vulnerable to his opponents because of his commitment to a wise life.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 109-110109-110. In the midst of deadly perils (the phrase is drawn from the fact that what we carry in our hands may easily slip from them, Jud 12:3; 1Sa 28:21; Job 13:14; compare 1Sa 19:5), and exposed to crafty enemies, his safety and guidance is in the truth and promises of God.Read the comment
Topics related to Psalms 119:109
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Psalms 119
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- The Treasury of David
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries