Psalms 119:150
in Psalms 119Those who follow after wickedness draw near; they are far from Your law.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They draw nigh that follow after wickedness; They are far from thy law.
KJV
They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law.
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This verse in Psalms 119
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
I call with all my heart
on Psalms 119:145-152
The praying runs from before dawn into the night watches. Verse 150 has those who follow wickedness drawing near, and verse 151 has the LORD near with all His commandments true. Verse 152 says the testimonies were established long ago.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"They draw near, that of malice persecute me:" or, as some copies read, "maliciously" [Psalm 119:150]. Then they that persecute draw near, when they go the length of torturing and destroying the flesh: whence the twenty-first Psalm, wherein the Lord's Passion is prophesied, says, "O go not from me, for trouble is hard at hand;" where those things are spoken of which He suffered when His Passion was not imminent upon Him, but actually realized. "And are far from Your law." The nearer they drew to the persecuting the righteous, so much the farther were they from righteousness. But what harm did they do unto those, to whom they drew near by persecution; since the approach of their Lord is nearer unto their souls, by whom they no wise are forsaken?
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They draw nigh that follow after mischief,.... Or "evil" (c); that which is sinful in itself, and injurious to others.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Though the wicked are near to injure, because far from God's law, He is near to help, and faithful to His word, which abides for ever.
"They draw nigh that follow after mischief." He could hear their footfalls close behind him. They are not following him for his benefit, but for his hurt, and therefore the sound of their approach is to be dreaded. They are not prosecuting a good object, but persecuting a good man. As if they had not enough mischief in their own hearts, they are hunting after more. He sees them going [on] a steeple chase over hedge and ditch in order to bring mischief to himself, and he points them out to God, and entreats the Lord to fix his eyes upon them, and deal with them to their confusion. They were already upon him, and he was almost in their grip, and therefore he cries the more earnestly. "They are far from thy law." A mischievous life cannot be an obedient one. Before these men could become persecutors of David they were obliged to get away from the restraints of God's law. They could not hate a saint and yet love the law. Those who keep God's law neither do harm to themselves nor to others. Sin is the greatest mischief in the world. David mentions this to the Lord in prayer, feeling some kind of comfort in the fact that those who hated him hated God also, and found it needful to get away from God before they could be free to act their cruel part towards himself. When we know that our enemies are God's enemies, and ours because they are his, we may well take comfort to ourselves.
"They draw nigh that follow after mischief." He could hear their footfalls close behind him. They are not following him for his benefit, but for his hurt, and therefore the sound of their approach is to be dreaded. They are not prosecuting a good object, but persecuting a good man. As if they had not enough mischief in their own hearts, they are hunting after more.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
They draw nigh - They are just at hand who seek to destroy me. They are far from thy law - They are near to all evil, but far from thee.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They draw nigh - They follow me; they press hard upon me. That follow after mischief - That seek to do me wrong. They are far from thy law - They yield no obedience to it; they are not influenced by it in their conduct toward me.
The words behind it
5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קָ֭רְבוּ | karevu | they draw near | H7126 → | 280 times |
| רֹדְפֵ֣י | rodefei | [those who] pursue | H7291 → | 143 times |
| זִמָּ֑ה | zimah | <of> wickedness | H2154 → | |
| מִתּוֹרָתְךָ֥ | mitoratekha | from law your | H8451 → | 219 times |
| רָחָֽקוּ׃ | rachaku | they are distant | H7368 → | 57 times |
קָ֭רְבוּthey draw near
karevuH7126 →280 times
רֹדְפֵ֣י[those who] pursue
rodefeiH7291 →143 times
זִמָּ֑ה<of> wickedness
zimahH2154 →
מִתּוֹרָתְךָ֥from law your
mitoratekhaH8451 →219 times
רָחָֽקוּ׃they are distant
rachakuH7368 →57 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
1 Samuel 23:16And Saul’s son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and strengthened his hand in God,
it leads to
- Isaiah 35:3–4
Strengthen the limp hands and steady the feeble knees!
- Hebrews 12:12–13
Therefore strengthen your limp hands and weak knees.
- Job 4:3–4
Surely you have instructed many, and have strengthened their feeble hands.
- 2 Timothy 2:1
You therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
- Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
- Isaiah 35:3–4
Through
Proverbs 28:9Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable.
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 4:3–4
For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 66:18
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
- Zechariah 7:11–13
But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
- 2 Timothy 4:3–4
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; 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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).