Bible Strands
Psalms 119:78
May the arrogant be put to shame for subverting me with a lie; I will meditate on Your precepts.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist addresses God in a prayer context, responding to active hostility by declaring a personal commitment to focus on divine instruction rather than retaliate.
The words — The Hebrew זֵדִים (zedim) identifies arrogant oppressors, while אָשִׂיחַ (asiach) means to meditate or deliberate upon, framing the verse’s contrast between human malice and deliberate reflection.
The thread — The motif of opposing slander or derision appears in Psalms 119:23 and 119:51, where rulers and arrogant figures attack the psalmist, while Psalms 25:3 contrasts the shame of the treacherous with the vindication of those who wait on God.
Why it lands — The text demands a reader replace reactive defense with disciplined focus on divine commands when facing false accusations.
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
Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts.
Cross-references
- Psalms 25:3 Surely none who wait for You will be put to shame; but those who engage in treachery without cause will be disgraced.
- Psalms 119:23 Though rulers sit and slander me, Your servant meditates on Your statutes.
- Psalms 119:51 The arrogant utterly deride me, but I do not turn from Your law.
- John 15:25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’
- 1 Peter 2:20 How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
- 1 Samuel 24:10 Behold, this day you have seen with your own eyes that the LORD delivered you into my hand in the cave. I was told to kill you, but I spared you and said, ‘I will not lift my hand against my lord, since he is the LORD’s anointed.’
- 1 Samuel 24:17 and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, though I have rewarded you with evil.
- 1 Samuel 26:18 And he continued, “Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done? What evil is in my hand?
- Psalms 1:2 But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.
- Psalms 7:3 O LORD my God, if I have done this, if injustice is on my hands,