Bible Strands
Psalms 119:140
Your promise is completely pure; therefore Your servant loves it.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God, identifying himself as a servant responding to divine instruction amid opposition and personal humiliation. This declaration follows a complaint about foes who forget God's words and precedes a statement of enduring loyalty despite being lowly and despised.
The words — The text highlights צְרוּפָ֖ה (tze.ru.Fah), meaning "has been refined," and אִמְרָתְ/ךָ֥ ('im.ra.te./Kha), meaning "your word" or "your promise." The adverb מְאֹ֗ד (me.'Od) intensifies the description to "exceedingly," establishing the objective basis for the servant's love.
The thread — This motif of divine speech as refined and flawless appears in Psalms 12:6 and Psalms 19:8, which compare God's words to silver purified in a furnace and commandments that give light. Proverbs 30:5 similarly declares every word of God flawless, anchoring the psalmist's devotion in a consistent biblical pattern.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to acknowledge that love for God's instruction flows from its proven purity, not from personal circumstance or emotional preference. It demands alignment of affection with the objective quality of divine speech rather than subjective attachment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.
Cross-references
- Psalms 19:8 The precepts of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart; the commandments of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
- Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
- Psalms 12:6 The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace, like gold purified sevenfold.
- 2 Peter 1:21 For no such prophecy was ever brought forth by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
- Psalms 119:128 Therefore I admire all Your precepts and hate every false way.
- Romans 7:12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.
- Romans 7:22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law.
- Psalms 18:30 As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
- 1 Peter 2:2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
- Romans 7:16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I admit that the law is good.