What Does Psalm 119:33 Mean in the King James?
Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The prayer asks to be directed onto an inscribed path, then to guard that path all the way through.
THE MEANING
The way forward is received as instruction from the LORD, not invented alone. What is shown becomes something the speaker guards and carries through to its end. Being taught and keeping belong to one movement.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It loosens the belief that a true path has to be invented alone: direction can be received and held through its course.
THE ROOT
הוֹרֵנִי
hōrēnî
GROWS FROM
ירה
y-r-h
To cast or throw; in this verb form, to instruct or direct.
“Teach” in this verse is hōrēnî. The request is for more than information: the verb carries the sense of direction, of being pointed toward a way. Its branch תּוֹרָה (tôrāh), meaning instruction, shares that root.
ALSO GROWS
tôrāh: Instruction
תּוֹרָה
The way of the statutes is instruction that directs the speaker’s steps.
mōreh: Teacher
מוֹרֶה
The teacher is one who directs or instructs, making the request for guidance personal.
אֶצְּרֶנָּה
ʾeṣṣerenāh
GROWS FROM
נצר
n-ṣ-r
To guard, watch, or preserve.
“Keep” in this verse is ʾeṣṣerenāh. The initial נ of the root is assimilated in this verb form. Keeping the way is pictured as guarding what has been shown, an active custody that carries the instruction forward.
ALSO GROWS
nōṣēr: One who guards or keeps
נֹצֵר
The verse’s keeping is the work of a guardian, holding the taught way in view.
nəṣōr: Guard; keep
נְצֹר
This imperative form makes the root’s sense of watchful preservation concrete.
חֻקֶּיךָ
ḥuqqêkha
GROWS FROM
חקק
ḥ-q-q
To cut, inscribe, or decree.
The statutes carry the image of something marked or inscribed, giving the way a definite shape. The speaker asks to be directed along a path with form, then to preserve it through its course.
ALSO GROWS
ḥōq: Statute, appointed portion, or limit
חֹק
The statute gives the instructed way a boundary and shape.
məḥōqēq: One who decrees; lawgiver
מְחוֹקֵק
The related word for a decreer preserves the root’s image of inscribing or setting a course.
THE PATTERN
A path is learned through instruction and carried forward by keeping what has been shown.
Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.THE THREAD
Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.The same words for teaching and way appear together: the instruction points out a path, and the response becomes walking in truth. Psalm 119 adds the image of guarding that path through to its end.
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