Psalms 119:136
in Psalms 119My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Streams of water run down mine eyes, Because they observe not thy law. צ TSADHE.
KJV
Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 119
Commentary
8 notes on this verseRivers of waters run down mine eyes,.... That is, "out of" them; as the Syriac version: or, "mine eyes let down rivers of waters" (t); see Lam 3:48; that is, an abundance of tears, which flowed like a river; an hyperbolical expression, setting forth the excessiveness of grief.
This site's exposition
Wonderful are Your testimonies
on Psalms 119:129-136
The unfolding of the words gives light and informs the simple, so the light comes at the word's first opening. He asks for ordered steps and no sin ruling him. The last verse has tears running over a law men do not keep.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"My eyes have descended streams of waters, because they have not kept Thy law" (ver. 136): that is, my eyes. For in some copies there is this reading, "Because I have not kept Thy law, streams of waters" therefore "descended," that is, floods of tears. ...
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Zealous himself to keep God's law, he is deeply afflicted when others violate it (compare Ps 119:53). Literally, "Mine eyes come down (dissolved) like water brooks" (La 3:48;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
"Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law." He wept in sympathy with God to see the holy law despised and broken. He wept in pity for men who were thus drawing down upon themselves the fiery wrath of God. His grief was such that he could scarcely give it vent; his tears were not mere drops of sorrow, but torrents of woe. In this he became like the Lord Jesus, who beheld the city, and wept over it; and like unto Jehovah himself, who hath no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, but that be turn unto him and live. The experience of this verse indicates a great advance upon anything we have had before: the psalm and the Psalmist are both growing. That man is a ripe believer who sorrows because of the sins of others. In Psa 119:120 his flesh trembled at the presence of God, and here it seems to melt and flow away in floods of tears. None are so affected by heavenly things as those who are much in the study of the word, and are thereby taught the truth and essence of things. Carnal men are afraid of brute force, and weep over losses and crosses; but spiritual men feel a holy fear of the Lord himself, and most of all lament when they see dishonour cast upon his holy name.
"Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law." He wept in sympathy with God to see the holy law despised and broken. He wept in pity for men who were thus drawing down upon themselves the fiery wrath of God. His grief was such that he could scarcely give it vent; his tears were not mere drops of sorrow, but torrents of woe.
Rivers of waters run down mine eyes - How much had this blessed man the honor of God and the salvation of souls at heart! O for more of that spirit which mourns for the transgressions of the land! But we are not properly convinced of the exceeding sinfulness of sin.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Rivers of waters run down mine eyes - My heart is sad, and my eyes pour forth floods of tears. It is not a gentle weeping, but my eyes are like a fountain which pours out full-flowing streams. See Jer 9:1. “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears,” etc. Compare Jer 14:17; Lam 1:16; Lam 2:18. Because they keep not thy law - On account of the sins, the follies, the stupidity, and the transgressions of people. So the Saviour wept over Jerusalem Luk 19:41; and so the apostle said that he had “great heaviness and continual sorrow” in his heart, on account of his “brethren,” his “kinsmen according to the flesh.” Rom 9:2-3. Such a feeling is right. There is nothing for which we should be excited to deeper emotion in respect to our fellow-men than for the fact that they are violators of the law of God, and exposed to its fearful penalty. There is nothing which more certainly indicates true piety in the soul than such deep compassion for people as sinners, or because they are sinners. There is nothing which is more certainly connected with a work of grace in a community, or revival of true religion, than when such a feeling pervades a church. Then Christians will pray; then they will labor to save sinners; then they will feel their dependence on God; and then the Spirit of God will descend and bless the efforts put forth for the salvation of people. It may be added, nothing is more remarkable than that pious people ordinarily feel so little on account of the danger of their friends and fellow-sinners - that the occasions are so rare on which they imitate the example of the psalmist and of the Saviour in weeping over the condition of a perishing world!
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| פַּלְגֵי־ | palgei- | streams of | H6388 → | 10 times |
| מַ֭יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| יָרְד֣וּ | yaredu | they have gone down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| עֵינָ֑י | ʾeinai | eyes my | H5869 → | 887 times |
| עַ֝֗ל | ʾal | because | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמְר֥וּ | shameru | people keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| תוֹרָתֶֽךָ׃ | toratekha | law your | H8451 → | 219 times |
פַּלְגֵי־streams of
palgei-H6388 →10 times
מַ֭יִםwater
mayimH4325 →581 times
יָרְד֣וּthey have gone down
yareduH3381 →381 times
עֵינָ֑יeyes my
ʾeinaiH5869 →887 times
עַ֝֗לbecause
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמְר֥וּpeople keep
shameruH8104 →468 times
תוֹרָתֶֽךָ׃law your
toratekhaH8451 →219 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 9:4“Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.”
it leads to
- Revelation 9:4
They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
- 2 Corinthians 1:22
placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.
- Revelation 14:1
Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
- Revelation 7:2–3
And I saw another angel ascending from the east, with the seal of the living God. And he called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to…
- Revelation 20:4
Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for…
- Revelation 9:4
Through
Jeremiah 9:1Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 13:17
But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 13:17
Through
Psalms 119:53Rage has taken hold of me because of the wicked who reject Your law.
it leads to
- Ezra 9:3
When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled out some hair from my head and beard, and sat down in horror.
- Ezra 9:3
Through
Jeremiah 14:17You are to speak this word to them: ‘My eyes overflow with tears; day and night they do not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been shattered by a crushing blow,…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 8:21
For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am crushed. I mourn; horror has gripped me.
- Jeremiah 8:21
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 119; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 6; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).