Psalm 119:158
New International Version
I look on the faithless with loathing, for they do not obey your word.

New Living Translation
Seeing these traitors makes me sick at heart, because they care nothing for your word.

English Standard Version
I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.

Berean Standard Bible
I look on the faithless with loathing because they do not keep Your word.

King James Bible
I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.

New King James Version
I see the treacherous, and am disgusted, Because they do not keep Your word.

New American Standard Bible
I see the treacherous and loathe them, Because they do not keep Your word.

NASB 1995
I behold the treacherous and loathe them, Because they do not keep Your word.

NASB 1977
I behold the treacherous and loathe them, Because they do not keep Thy word.

Legacy Standard Bible
I see the treacherous and loathe them, Those who do not keep Your word.

Amplified Bible
I see the treacherous and loathe them, Because they do not respect Your law.

Christian Standard Bible
I have seen the disloyal and feel disgust because they do not keep your word.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
I have seen the disloyal and feel disgust because they do not keep Your word.

American Standard Version
I beheld the treacherous, and was grieved, Because they observe not thy word.

Contemporary English Version
Those unfaithful people who refuse to obey you are disgusting to me.

English Revised Version
I beheld the treacherous dealers, and was grieved; because they observed not thy word.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
I have seen traitors, and I am filled with disgust. They have not accepted your promise.

Good News Translation
When I look at those traitors, I am filled with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.

International Standard Version
I watch the treacherous, and despise them, because they do not do what you have said.

Majority Standard Bible
I look on the faithless with loathing because they do not keep Your word.

NET Bible
I take note of the treacherous and despise them, because they do not keep your instructions.

New Heart English Bible
I look at the faithless with loathing, because they do not observe your word.

Webster's Bible Translation
I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.

World English Bible
I look at the faithless with loathing, because they don’t observe your word.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
I have seen treacherous ones, "" And grieve myself, "" Because they have not kept Your saying.

Young's Literal Translation
I have seen treacherous ones, And grieve myself, Because Thy saying they have not kept.

Smith's Literal Translation
I saw those transgressing, and I shall loathe, for they watched not thy word.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
I beheld the transgressors, and I pined away; because they kept not thy word.

Catholic Public Domain Version
I saw the prevaricators, and I pine away. For they have not kept your word.

New American Bible
I view the faithless with loathing because they do not heed your promise.

New Revised Standard Version
I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
I beheld the transgressors and I knew they had not kept thy word.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
I have seen the evil ones and I have known that they have not kept your word.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
I beheld them that were faithless, and strove with them; Because they observed not Thy word.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
I beheld men acting foolishly, and I pined away; for they kept not thine oracles.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Your Word is a Lamp to My Feet
157Though my persecutors and foes are many, I have not turned from Your testimonies. 158I look on the faithless with loathing because they do not keep Your word. 159Consider how I love Your precepts, O LORD; give me life according to Your loving devotion.…

Cross References
Jeremiah 9:1-3
Oh, 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. / If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people. / “They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.

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.”

Romans 9:2-3
I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. / For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood,

Philippians 3:18-19
For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. / Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.

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.

Luke 19:41-44
As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it / and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes. / For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. ...

2 Peter 2:2
Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed.

Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

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

Hosea 4:1-3
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land! / Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another. / Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.

1 Samuel 15:11
“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.

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.

Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

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.”

2 Timothy 3:1-5
But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. / For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, / unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good, ...


Treasury of Scripture

I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not your word.

Psalm 119:53,136
Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law…

Ezekiel 9:4
And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

Mark 3:5
And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Jump to Previous
Beheld Commands Deal Disgust Faithless Grieve Grieved Hate Kept Loathing Obey Observe Observed Ones Strove Them Transgressors Treacherous Treacherously Untrue Word
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Beheld Commands Deal Disgust Faithless Grieve Grieved Hate Kept Loathing Obey Observe Observed Ones Strove Them Transgressors Treacherous Treacherously Untrue Word
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














I look on the faithless with loathing
The psalmist expresses a strong emotional reaction towards those who are unfaithful to God's covenant. This sentiment reflects a deep commitment to God's law and a desire for righteousness. The term "faithless" often refers to those who have turned away from God's commandments, similar to the Israelites who worshipped idols (Exodus 32). The loathing is not personal animosity but a righteous indignation towards sin, akin to Jesus' reaction to the money changers in the temple (John 2:13-17).

because they do not keep Your word
The psalmist's disdain is rooted in the failure of the faithless to adhere to God's commandments. This highlights the importance of obedience in the biblical narrative, as seen in Deuteronomy 28, where blessings and curses are tied to the observance of God's law. The phrase underscores the centrality of God's word in guiding moral and spiritual conduct. It also echoes the New Testament teaching in James 1:22, which emphasizes being doers of the word, not just hearers. The psalmist's lament can be seen as a type of Christ, who perfectly kept God's word and grieved over Jerusalem's unfaithfulness (Matthew 23:37).

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Psalmist
The author of Psalm 119, traditionally believed to be King David, who expresses a deep love for God's law and a desire for righteousness.

2. The Faithless
Individuals who do not adhere to God's commandments, often seen as those who reject or neglect the covenant relationship with God.

3. God's Word
The divine commandments and teachings given to the people of Israel, which the Psalmist holds in high regard.
Teaching Points
The Importance of God's Word
God's word is a guiding light and a source of truth. As believers, we are called to cherish and uphold it in our daily lives.

Righteous Indignation
The Psalmist's loathing of the faithless is not personal hatred but a righteous indignation against sin and disobedience to God.

The Call to Faithfulness
We are encouraged to remain faithful to God's commandments, recognizing the spiritual danger of neglecting His word.

Compassion for the Lost
While we may feel a sense of righteous anger towards sin, we are also called to have compassion and pray for those who are lost, seeking their repentance and salvation.

Self-Examination
This verse challenges us to examine our own lives and ensure that we are not falling into faithlessness by neglecting God's word.RESH.

(158) Transgressors.--Better, the faithless (or, traitors).

Was grieved.--The Hebrew is a far stronger word, and the sense is intensified by the rare conjugation: was filled with loathing at; sickened with disgust.

"The recreants I survey,

And loathing turn away."--KEBLE.

Verse 158. - I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; literally, the treacherous dealers - those who dealt treacherously against the Divine covenant. Because they kept not thy Word (comp. ver. 136).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
I look on
רָאִ֣יתִי (rā·’î·ṯî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7200: To see

the faithless
בֹ֭גְדִים (ḇō·ḡə·ḏîm)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 898: To cover, to act covertly, to pillage

with loathing
וָֽאֶתְקוֹטָ֑טָה (wā·’eṯ·qō·w·ṭā·ṭāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hitpael - Consecutive imperfect - first person common singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 6962: To cut off, detest

because
אֲשֶׁ֥ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

they do not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

keep
שָׁמָֽרוּ׃ (šā·mā·rū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 8104: To hedge about, guard, to protect, attend to

Your word.
אִ֝מְרָתְךָ֗ (’im·rā·ṯə·ḵā)
Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 565: Utterance, speech, word


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OT Poetry: Psalm 119:158 I look at the faithless with loathing (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 119:157
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