Bible Strands
Psalms 119:19
I am a stranger on the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God, continuing a petition for spiritual perception immediately after asking in verse 18 to open his eyes to the law. The speaker identifies himself within the ongoing context of a journey marked by longing for divine instruction.
The words — גֵּר (ger) translates literally as "sojourner" or "stranger," while תַּסְתֵּר (tas ter) means "you hide." These terms anchor the verse in a declaration of earthly displacement paired with a direct request for divine revelation.
The thread — This theme of earthly foreignness appears in 1 Chronicles 29:15, where the people acknowledge their status as strangers before God, and in Hebrews 11:13, which notes that faithful figures died without receiving the promised inheritance. The psalmist's plea echoes this broader scriptural pattern of temporary residence demanding reliance on God's word.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of one's transient status and a direct appeal for continued access to divine instruction. It requires the reader to treat Scripture as essential sustenance rather than an optional resource.
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 am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 29:15 For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
- Psalms 39:12 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers.
- Hebrews 11:13 All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
- Psalms 119:10 With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments.
- 2 Corinthians 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord.
- 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.
- Genesis 47:9 “My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”
- Luke 24:45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
- Isaiah 63:17 Why, O LORD, do You make us stray from Your ways and harden our hearts from fearing You? Return, for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage.
- Luke 9:45 But they did not understand this statement. It was veiled from them so that they could not comprehend it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.