Psalm 119:139
New International Version
My zeal wears me out, for my enemies ignore your words.

New Living Translation
I am overwhelmed with indignation, for my enemies have disregarded your words.

English Standard Version
My zeal consumes me, because my foes forget your words.

Berean Standard Bible
My zeal has consumed me because my foes forget Your words.

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

New King James Version
My zeal has consumed me, Because my enemies have forgotten Your words.

New American Standard Bible
My zeal has consumed me, Because my enemies have forgotten Your words.

NASB 1995
My zeal has consumed me, Because my adversaries have forgotten Your words.

NASB 1977
My zeal has consumed me, Because my adversaries have forgotten Thy words.

Legacy Standard Bible
My zeal has consumed me, Because my adversaries have forgotten Your words.

Amplified Bible
My zeal has [completely] consumed me, Because my enemies have forgotten Your words.

Christian Standard Bible
My anger overwhelms me because my foes forget your words.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
My anger overwhelms me because my foes forget Your words.

American Standard Version
My zeal hath consumed me, Because mine adversaries have forgotten thy words.

Contemporary English Version
It upsets me greatly when my enemies neglect your teachings.

English Revised Version
My zeal hath consumed me, because mine adversaries have forgotten thy words.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
My devotion [for your words] consumes me, because my enemies have forgotten your words.

Good News Translation
My anger burns in me like a fire, because my enemies disregard your commands.

International Standard Version
My zeal consumes me because my enemies forget your words.

Majority Standard Bible
My zeal has consumed me because my foes forget Your words.

NET Bible
My zeal consumes me, for my enemies forget your instructions.

New Heart English Bible
My zeal wears me out, because my enemies ignore your words.

Webster's Bible Translation
My zeal hath consumed me; because my enemies have forgotten thy words.

World English Bible
My zeal wears me out, because my enemies ignore your words.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
My zeal has cut me off, "" For my adversaries forgot Your words.

Young's Literal Translation
Cut me off hath my zeal, For mine adversaries forgot Thy words.

Smith's Literal Translation
My jealousy cut me off; for mine enemies forgat thy words.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
My zeal hath made me pine away: because my enemies forgot thy words.

Catholic Public Domain Version
My zeal has caused me to pine away, because my enemies have forgotten your words.

New American Bible
I am consumed with rage, because my foes forget your words.

New Revised Standard Version
My zeal consumes me because my foes forget your words.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Zeal hath consumed me because thine enemies have forgotten thy word.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Zeal has tormented me always because your enemies have forgotten your word.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
My zeal hath undone me, Because mine adversaries have forgotten Thy words.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Thy zeal has quite wasted me: because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Your Word is a Lamp to My Feet
138The testimonies You have laid down are righteous and altogether faithful. 139My zeal has consumed me because my foes forget Your words. 140Your promise is completely pure; therefore Your servant loves it.…

Cross References
John 2:17
His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.”

Romans 10:2
For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.

Jeremiah 20:9
If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.

1 Kings 19:10
“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”

Acts 17:16
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply disturbed in his spirit to see that the city was full of idols.

2 Corinthians 11:29
Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not burn with grief?

Galatians 4:18
Nevertheless, it is good to be zealous if it serves a noble purpose—at any time, and not only when I am with you.

Philippians 3:6
as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.

1 Corinthians 9:16
Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

2 Kings 10:16
saying, “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD!” So he had him ride in his chariot.

Isaiah 26:11
O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!

Ezekiel 3:14
So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.

Nehemiah 5:6
When I heard their outcry and these complaints, I became extremely angry,

2 Samuel 6:21-22
But David said to Michal, “I was dancing before the LORD, who chose me over your father and all his house when He appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel. I will celebrate before the LORD, / and I will humiliate and humble myself even more than this. Yet I will be honored by the maidservants of whom you have spoken.”

Matthew 21:12-13
Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. / And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”


Treasury of Scripture

My zeal has consumed me, because my enemies have forgotten your words.

zeal

Psalm 69:9
For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

1 Kings 19:10,14
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 altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away…

John 2:17
And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

consumed me.

Psalm 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 repentance.

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; …

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Adversaries Consumed Consumes Cut Destroyeth Enemies Foes Forget Forgot Forgotten Haters Ignore Oppressors Overcome Passion Turned Undone Wears Words Zeal
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Adversaries Consumed Consumes Cut Destroyeth Enemies Foes Forget Forgot Forgotten Haters Ignore Oppressors Overcome Passion Turned Undone Wears Words Zeal
Psalm 119
1. This psalm contains various prayers, praises, and professions of obedience.
2. Aleph.
9. Beth
17. Gimel
25. Daleth
33. He
41. Waw
49. Zayin
57. Heth
65. Teth
73. Yodh
81. Kaph
89. Lamedh
97. Mem
105. Nun
113. Samekh
121. Ayin
129. Pe
137. Tsadhe
145. Qoph
153. Resh
161. Sin and Shin
169. Taw














My zeal
The Hebrew word for "zeal" is "קִנְאָה" (qin'ah), which conveys a sense of passionate intensity and fervor. In the context of Psalm 119, this zeal is a deep, consuming passion for God's law and righteousness. Historically, zeal was a characteristic of those who were deeply committed to God's covenant, such as Phinehas in Numbers 25:11. This fervor is not merely emotional but is rooted in a profound commitment to uphold God's truth and honor.

has consumed me
The phrase "has consumed me" suggests a total and overwhelming dedication. The Hebrew root "תָּמַם" (tamam) implies being spent or exhausted. This indicates that the psalmist's passion for God's word is so intense that it affects his entire being. In a spiritual sense, this consumption reflects a life wholly devoted to God's service, reminiscent of the Apostle Paul's declaration in Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

because my foes
The term "foes" refers to those who oppose or stand against the psalmist. In Hebrew, "צָרַי" (tsaray) denotes adversaries or enemies. These foes are not merely personal enemies but represent those who oppose God's statutes and principles. Throughout biblical history, God's people have faced opposition from those who reject His commandments, as seen in the lives of prophets like Jeremiah and Elijah.

forget Your words
The act of forgetting here is significant. The Hebrew word "שָׁכַח" (shakach) means to ignore or neglect. This forgetfulness is not accidental but a willful disregard for God's commandments. In the biblical narrative, forgetting God's words often leads to spiritual decline and judgment, as seen in the history of Israel. The psalmist's distress is not just personal but is rooted in a deep concern for the spiritual state of those who abandon God's truth.

Verse 139. - My zeal hath consumed me (comp. Psalm 69:9). Because mine enemies have forgotten thy words (see above, vers. 53, 136). The psalmist was at once grieved and angered by man's disobedience to God's commandments (comp. Psalm 139:21).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
My zeal
קִנְאָתִ֑י (qin·’ā·ṯî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 7068: Ardor, zeal, jealousy

has consumed me
צִמְּתַ֥תְנִי (ṣim·mə·ṯaṯ·nî)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person feminine singular | first person common singular
Strong's 6789: To put an end to, exterminate

because
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

my foes
צָרָֽי׃ (ṣā·rāy)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 6862: Narrow, a tight place, a pebble, an opponent

forget
שָׁכְח֖וּ (šā·ḵə·ḥū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 7911: To mislay, to be oblivious of, from want of memory, attention

Your words.
דְבָרֶ֣יךָ (ḏə·ḇā·re·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause


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OT Poetry: Psalm 119:139 My zeal wears me out because my (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 119:138
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