Bible Strands
Psalms 119:92
If Your law had not been my delight, then I would have perished in my affliction.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The psalmist speaks directly to God within a structured acrostic poem, positioning this declaration immediately after affirming God's unchanging ordinances and before pledging never to forget His precepts.
The words — לוּלֵי (luLei) functions as a conditional "if not," while אָבַדְתִּי (avadti) literally means "I perished" or "I was destroyed."
The thread — The psalmist's reliance on divine instruction for survival parallels the structural endurance described in Romans 15:4 and the protective guidance outlined in Proverbs 6:22, while echoing the identical contrast between distress and delight found in Psalms 119:143.
Why it lands — The text demands that a reader examine whether their engagement with Scripture functions as a structural necessity for endurance rather than a secondary preference, since the verse explicitly ties survival in affliction to the law being a delight.
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
Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.
Cross-references
- Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.
- Proverbs 6:22 When you walk, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.
- Psalms 119:143 Trouble and distress have found me, but Your commandments are my delight.
- Psalms 94:18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,” Your loving devotion, O LORD, supports me.
- Psalms 119:77 May Your compassion come to me, that I may live, for Your law is my delight.
- Psalms 119:24 Your testimonies are indeed my delight; they are my counselors.
- Psalms 27:13 Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.