Bible Strands
Psalms 119:163
I hate and abhor falsehood, but Your law I love.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God within a poetic sequence that moves from rejoicing in divine promises to praising God’s righteous judgments. This declaration marks a deliberate pivot toward defining the speaker’s moral posture.
The words — שָׂנֵאתִי (Sa.ne.ti) = I hate and אָהָֽבְתִּי (a.Ha.ve.ti) = I love frame the verse’s core contrast. These verbs establish a binary stance between rejecting deception and embracing divine instruction.
The thread — The psalmist links hating falsehood to admiring God’s precepts in Psalms 119:128. Later texts echo this moral polarity in Proverbs 6:16 and Romans 12:9.
Why it lands — The text demands a clear boundary where rejecting deception and committing to God’s law function as a single requirement. A reader must align their affections with this stated dichotomy.
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 hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.
Cross-references
- Psalms 119:128 Therefore I admire all Your precepts and hate every false way.
- Proverbs 6:16 There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him:
- Romans 12:9 Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.
- Psalms 119:29 Remove me from the path of deceit and graciously grant me Your law.
- Amos 5:15 Hate evil and love good; establish justice in the gate. Perhaps the LORD, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”
- Psalms 101:7 No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who tells lies shall stand in my presence.
- Psalms 119:113 The double-minded I despise, but Your law I love.
- Proverbs 30:8 Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.
- Ephesians 4:25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.
- Revelation 22:15 But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.