Psalms 119:2
in Psalms 119Blessed are those who keep His testimonies and seek Him with all their heart.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, That seek him with the whole heart.
KJV
Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
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This verse in Psalms 119
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Blessed are those whose way is blameless
on Psalms 119:1-8
Seven names for the word stand in these eight verses: law, testimonies, ways, precepts, statutes, commandments and judgments. The psalm opens on Blessed, as Psalm 1:1 does. Verse 8 closes on a plea that God not utterly forsake him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Listen now to what he adds: "Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and seek Him with their whole heart" [Psalm 119:2]. No other class of the blessed seems to me to be mentioned in these words, than that which has been already spoken of. For to examine into the testimonies of the Lord, and to seek Him with all the heart, this is to be undefiled in the way, this is to walk in the law of the Lord.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Jesus said, "If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." This statement of our Savior is very helpful for salvation, and we must ponder it attentively. We will be blessed if we know the heavenly commands, yet still more so …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He is, and will be, the rewarder, the reward, of all those who thus seek him diligently, seek him with the heart, for that is it that God looks at and requires; and with the whole heart, for if the heart be divided between him and the world it is faulty. Who carefully avoid all sin (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Blessed are they that keep his testimonies,.... The whole word of God, the Scriptures of truth, are his testimonies: they testify of the mind of God, and of his love and grace in the method of salvation by Christ; they testify of Christ, his person, offices, and grace; of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow; and of all the happiness that comes to the people of God thereby. The law is called a testimony, which being put into the ark, that had the name of the ark of the testimony.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
testimonies--The word of God is so called, because in it He testifies for truth and against sin. seek him--that is, a knowledge of Him, with desire for conformity to His will.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
"Blessed are they that keep his testimonies." What! A second blessing? Yes, they are doubly blessed whose outward life is supported by an inward zeal for God's glory. In the first verse we had an undefiled way, and it was taken for granted that the purity in the way was not mere surface work, but was attended by the inward truth and life which comes of divine grace. Here that which was implied is expressed. Blessedness is ascribed to those who treasure up the testimonies of the Lord: in which is implied that they search the Scriptures, that they come to an understanding of them, that they love them, and then that they continue in the practice of them. We must first get a thing before we can keep it. In order to keep it well we must get a firm grip of it: we cannot keep in the heart that which we have not heartily embraced by the affections. God's word is his witness or testimony to grand and important truths which concern himself and our relation to him: this we should desire to know; knowing it, we should believe it; believing it, we should love it; and loving it, we should hold it fast against all comers. There is a doctrinal keeping of the word when we are ready to die for its defence, and a practical keeping of it when we actually live under its power. Revealed truth is precious as diamonds, and should be kept or treasured up in the memory and in the heart as jewels in a casket, or as the law was kept in the ark; this however is not enough, for it is meant for practical use, and therefore it must be kept or followed, as men keep to a path, or to a line of business. If we keep God's testimonies they will keep us; they will keep us right in opinion, comfortable in spirit, holy in conversation, and hopeful in expectation.
"Blessed are they that keep his testimonies." What! A second blessing? Yes, they are doubly blessed whose outward life is supported by an inward zeal for God's glory. In the first verse we had an undefiled way, and it was taken for granted that the purity in the way was not mere surface work, but was attended by the inward truth and life which comes of divine grace. Here that which was implied is expressed.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Blessed are they that keep his testimonies - His commandments or laws, considered as what he bears witness to concerning that which is just, wise, good. Every law of a parent is to his children a testimony on his part of what is wise and right and good; and so every law of God is his solemn testimony as to what is right and good for man. See Psa 19:7, note; Psa 25:10, note. And that seek him with the whole heart - With a sincere desire to know his will and to do it; without hypocrisy or guile; with no selfish or sinister aims. As God knows the heart, all other modes of “seeking” him must be in vain. It is impossible for man to impose on him by appearances.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַ֭שְׁרֵי | ʾashrei | how blessed! | H835 → | 45 times |
| נֹצְרֵ֥י | notzerei | [are those who] observe | H5341 → | 63 times |
| עֵדֹתָ֗יו | ʾedotav | <of> testimonies his | H5713 → | 26 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | with all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| לֵ֥ב | lev | [the] heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
| יִדְרְשֽׁוּהוּ׃ | yidreshuhu | they seek him | H1875 → | 164 times |
אַ֭שְׁרֵיhow blessed!
ʾashreiH835 →45 times
נֹצְרֵ֥י[are those who] observe
notzereiH5341 →63 times
עֵדֹתָ֗יו<of> testimonies his
ʾedotavH5713 →26 times
בְּכָל־with all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
לֵ֥ב[the] heart
levH3820 →595 times
יִדְרְשֽׁוּהוּ׃they seek him
yidreshuhuH1875 →164 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
Jeremiah 29:13You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
it leads to
- Psalms 119:10
With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 4:29–31
But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- Matthew 7:7
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- Jeremiah 24:7
I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their…
- Joel 2:12
“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”
- Psalms 119:10
Through
John 14:23Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
it leads to
- John 14:21
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
- John 14:15
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
- John 14:21
Through
Deuteronomy 4:29But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:12–14
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Jeremiah 29:12–14
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 119; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 2:5; 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.