Bible Strands
Psalms 119:162
I rejoice in Your promise like one who finds great spoil.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist speaks to God, declaring personal devotion while facing persecution from rulers who oppose him without cause. The declaration follows a statement of fearing God’s word despite hostility and precedes a vow to love God’s law over falsehood.
The words — The Hebrew שָׂשׂ (sas) denotes active rejoicing, combined with אִמְרָתֶךָ ('imrātēḵā), literally "your word," and שָׁלָל (šālāl), meaning "plunder" or "spoils." The text states the speaker’s joy in God’s promise equals the discovery of abundant war booty.
The thread — This motif appears in Jeremiah 15:16, where receiving God’s words produces joy and delight, and in Psalms 119:72 and 119:111, where God’s law and testimonies are described as more valuable than silver and gold and as the heart’s joy.
Why it lands — The passage requires a reader to measure their valuation of divine promises against material wealth. It demands the reader treat God’s instruction as a concrete, life-sustaining prize rather than a theoretical ideal.
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
I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.
- Psalms 119:72 The law from Your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
- Psalms 119:111 Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
- 1 Samuel 30:16 So he led David down, and there were the Amalekites spread out over all the land, eating, drinking, and celebrating the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.
- Isaiah 9:3 You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people rejoice before You as they rejoice at harvest time, as men rejoice in dividing the plunder.
- Proverbs 16:19 It is better to be lowly in spirit among the humble than to divide the spoil with the proud.