Psalms 119:158

I look on the faithless with loathing because they do not keep Your word.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The psalmist speaks to God while surrounded by numerous persecutors, immediately after affirming his refusal to abandon divine testimonies. This verse records his emotional response to those who abandon covenant obligations.

The words — בֹ֭גְדִים (bogdim) identifies those who act treacherously, paired with אֶתְקוֹטָטָה (etqotata), which conveys intense disgust or loathing. The clause אֲשֶׁר לֹא שָׁמְרוּ (asher lo shamru) explicitly grounds this reaction in their failure to keep God's word.

The thread — This disgust over covenant violation aligns with the psalmist's rage in Psalms 119:53 and his weeping in Psalms 119:136 over lawlessness. It stands distinct from Psalms 139:21, which directs hatred toward those who personally hate and rise against God rather than toward those who reject divine commands.

Why it lands — The text demands a clear alignment of emotional response with covenant faithfulness, treating abandonment of God's word as a direct offense. It requires readers to examine whether their own reactions to disobedience reflect measured grief or uncontrolled hostility.

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

רָאִ֣יתִיra.'I.tiI see בֹ֭גְדִיםVo.ge.dim[those who] act treacherously וָֽאֶתְקוֹטָ֑טָהva./'et.ko.Ta.ta/hand/ I felt disgust/ !אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherthat אִ֝מְרָתְךָ֗'im.ra.te./khaword/ your לֹ֣אlo'not שָׁמָֽרוּ׃sha.Ma.ruthey have kept

King James Version

I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.

Cross-references

Psalms 119:53 Rage has taken hold of me because of the wicked who reject Your law.
Psalms 139:21 Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD, and detest those who rise against You?
Psalms 119:136 My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.
Ezekiel 9:4 “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.”
Mark 3:5 Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored.