Bible Strands
Psalms 119:153
Look upon my affliction and rescue me, for I have not forgotten Your law.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God directly, pleading for deliverance from present distress while standing on the reality of established divine statutes.
The words — The imperative רְאֵה (re'eh) commands God to "see," linked to עָנְיִי ('ani) for "my affliction" and the verb חַלְּצֵנִי (chal·tseni) meaning "rescue me." The particle לֹא (lo') stands independently from שָׁכַחְתִּי (sha·chati), which literally reads "I have forgotten," to form the negative declaration "I have not forgotten."
The thread — The structure repeats in Psalms 119:176, where the psalmist again pairs wandering with a claim of not forgetting commandments. The plea to God to look upon suffering also appears in Lamentations 5:1 and Psalms 9:13, though the latter texts specify "disgrace" or "enemies" rather than the general term "affliction."
Why it lands — The text records a request for divine intervention grounded in a stated fact of obedience rather than emotional appeal. It requires the reader to present concrete distress to God while anchoring the plea in remembered instruction.
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
ר RESH. Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law.
Cross-references
- Psalms 119:176 I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.
- Lamentations 5:1 Remember, O LORD, what has happened to us. Look and see our disgrace!
- Psalms 9:13 Be merciful to me, O LORD; see how my enemies afflict me! Lift me up from the gates of death,
- Psalms 25:19 Consider my enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with vicious hatred.
- Psalms 119:16 I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.
- Psalms 119:141 I am lowly and despised, but I do not forget Your precepts.
- Psalms 119:159 Consider how I love Your precepts, O LORD; give me life according to Your loving devotion.
- Proverbs 3:1 My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
- Exodus 3:7 The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
- Nehemiah 9:32 So now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God who keeps His gracious covenant, do not view lightly all the hardship that has come upon us, and upon our kings and leaders, our priests and prophets, our ancestors and all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.