Psalms 119:139

My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
zeal	קִנְאָתִ֑י kin.'a.Ti	H7068	jealousy or envy · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
consumed	צִמְּתַ֥תְנִי tzi.me.Tat.ni	H6789	to extirpate (literally or figuratively) · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person feminine singular + pronominal suffix
enemies	צָרָֽי tza.Rai	H6862	narrow · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
forgotten	שָׁכְח֖וּ sha.khe.Chu	H7911	to mislay · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
words	דְבָרֶ֣יךָ de.va.Rei.kha	H1697	a word · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Psalms 69:9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
John 2:17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
1 Kings 19:10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine al…
Acts 13:27 For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabba…
1 Kings 19:14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thin…
Psalms 53:4 Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.
Matthew 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repenta…
Matthew 12:3-5 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:139

Here is, 1. The great contempt which wicked men put upon religion: My enemies have forgotten thy words. They have often heard them, but so little did they heed them that they soon forgot them, they willingly forgot them, not only through carelessness let them slip out of their minds, but contrived how to cast them behind their backs. This is at the bottom of all the wickedness of the wicked, and particularly of their malignity and enmity to the people of God; they have forgotten the words of God, else those would give check to their sinful courses. 2. The great concern which godly men show for religion. David reckoned those his enemies who forgot the words of God because they were enemies to…

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John Gill on Psalms 119:139

My zeal hath consumed me,.... Zeal for God and his glory, for his word and ordinances and worship; which is a fervour of the mind, burning love, and flaming affections for God, shown in a holy indignation against sin and sinners. This was a zeal according to knowledge, sincere and hearty, and what continued; and which was shown in embracing and defending the truths of the word, and resenting every indignity cast upon them; to such a degree, that it ate up his spirit, wore away his flesh, and almost consumed him; see Psalm 69:9; because mine enemies have forgotten thy words; not merely through an indifference to them, and inattention in hearing them; nor through want of an earnest heed to ke…

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John Calvin on Psalms 119:137-144

Psalm 119:137-144 137. ts O Jehovah! thou art righteous, and thy judgments are right. 138. tsThou hast commanded righteousness in thy testimonies, and truth greatly. 139. tsMy zeal hath consumed me, because my adversaries have forgotten thy words. 140. ts Thy word is exceedingly refined, and thy servant hath loved it. 141. tsI am insignificant and despised; I have not forgotten thy commandments. 142.ts Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness; and the law is truth. 143.ts Trouble and anguish have come upon me; but thy commandments are my delight. 144. tsThe righteousness of thy testimonies endereth for ever; give me understanding and I shall live. 137. O Jehovah! thou art righteou…

The Church Fathers

But what is it that followeth: "My zeal hath caused me to pine" (ver. 139); or, as other copies read, Thy zeal? Others have also, "The zeal of Thy house:" and, "hath eaten me up," instead of, "hath caused me to pine." This, as it seems to me, has been considered as an emendation to be introduced from another Psalm, where it is written, "The zeal of Thy house hath eaten me up:" a text quoted also, as we know, in the Gospel. The two words, however, "hath caused me to pine," and "hath eaten me up," are somewhat like. But the words, "my zeal," which most of the copies read, occasion no dispute: for what wonder is it if every man pineth away from his own zeal? The words read in other copies, "Thy zeal," signify a man zealous for God, not for himself: but there is no difficulty in using "my" in the same sense...The Psalmist's jealousy is therefore also to be understood in a good sense: for he addeth the cause, and saith, "Because mine enemies have forgotten Thy words." ...
— Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 119

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Poetry — Has been well defined as “the measured language of emotion.” Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man’s relation to God. “Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon,…
Affections · Should be zealously engaged for God — Should be zealously engaged for God
Affections, The · Should be zealously engaged for God — Should be zealously engaged for God
Fire · Illustrative of: Zeal of saints — Illustrative of: Zeal of saints
Zeal · Of saints, ardent — Of saints, ardent
Zeal, Religious · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Psalms 119:139

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:139

John Gill on Psalms 119:139

John Calvin on Psalms 119:137-144

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Psalms 119:139

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:139

John Gill on Psalms 119:139

John Calvin on Psalms 119:137-144

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Psalms 119:137-144

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Psalms 119:139