Bible Strands
Psalms 119:73
Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding to learn Your commandments.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses YHWH directly, mid-acrostic in Psalm 119, having just declared the law more precious than gold (v. 72) and about to ask that God-fearers see him and rejoice (v. 74).
The words — יְכוֹנְנִי (yakhonnî, H3559) literally "they prepared / set me in order," a verb of deliberate establishment rather than mere creation. Its pairing with עָשׂוּ ('asû, "they made") moves from raw formation to purposeful arrangement.
The thread — The Maker motif runs through Psalms 139:14 ("fearfully and wonderfully made") and Job 31:15 ("He who made me in the womb"), while Psalms 138:8 pairs "works of Your hands" with a plea not to abandon them.
Why it lands — The psalmist does not ask to be remade; he asks the one who already made and prepared him to supply the understanding needed to learn what he already values. The reader is asked to treat understanding as something received from the Maker, not self-generated.
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
י JOD. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
Cross-references
- Psalms 139:14 I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well.
- Job 31:15 Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb?
- Psalms 138:8 The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever—do not abandon the works of Your hands.
- Psalms 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts gain rich understanding. His praise endures forever!
- 2 Timothy 2:7 Consider what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all things.
- Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.
- Psalms 119:125 I am Your servant; give me understanding, that I may know Your testimonies.
- 1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
- Psalms 100:3 Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
- Psalms 119:34 Give me understanding that I may obey Your law, and follow it with all my heart.