Psalm 119:70
New International Version
Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law.

New Living Translation
Their hearts are dull and stupid, but I delight in your instructions.

English Standard Version
their heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in your law.

Berean Standard Bible
Their hearts are callous and insensitive, but I delight in Your law.

King James Bible
Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law.

New King James Version
Their heart is as fat as grease, But I delight in Your law.

New American Standard Bible
Their heart is insensitive, like fat, But I delight in Your Law.

NASB 1995
Their heart is covered with fat, But I delight in Your law.

NASB 1977
Their heart is covered with fat, But I delight in Thy law.

Legacy Standard Bible
Their heart is covered with fat, But I delight in Your law.

Amplified Bible
Their heart is insensitive like fat [their minds are dull and brutal], But I delight in Your law.

Christian Standard Bible
Their hearts are hard and insensitive, but I delight in your instruction.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Their hearts are hard and insensitive, but I delight in Your instruction.

American Standard Version
Their heart is as fat as grease; But I delight in thy law.

Contemporary English Version
Those liars have no sense, but I find happiness in your Law.

English Revised Version
Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Their hearts are cold and insensitive, [yet] I am happy with your teachings.

Good News Translation
They have no understanding, but I find pleasure in your law.

International Standard Version
Their minds are clogged as with greasy fat, but I find joy in your instruction.

Majority Standard Bible
Their hearts are callous and insensitive, but I delight in Your law.

NET Bible
Their hearts are calloused, but I find delight in your law.

New Heart English Bible
Their heart is as callous as the fat, but I delight in your Law.

Webster's Bible Translation
Their heart is as gross as fat; but I delight in thy law.

World English Bible
Their heart is as callous as the fat, but I delight in your law.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Their heart has been thick as fat, "" I have delighted in Your law.

Young's Literal Translation
Insensate as fat hath been their heart, I -- in Thy law I have delighted.

Smith's Literal Translation
Their heart was fat as fatness; I delighted in thy law.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Their heart is curdled like milk: but I have meditated on thy law.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Their heart has been curdled like milk. Truly, I have meditated on your law.

New American Bible
Their hearts are gross and fat; as for me, your law is my delight.

New Revised Standard Version
Their hearts are fat and gross, but I delight in your law.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Their hearts are stubborn; but I keep thy law.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Their heart is curdled like milk and I have kept your Law.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Their heart is gross like fat; But I delight in Thy law.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Their heart has been curdled like milk; but I have meditated on thy law.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Your Word is a Lamp to My Feet
69Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep Your precepts with all my heart. 70Their hearts are hard and callous, but I delight in Your law. 71It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.…

Cross References
Jeremiah 6:10
To whom can I give this warning? Who will listen to me? Look, their ears are closed, so they cannot hear. See, the word of the LORD has become offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.

Isaiah 6:10
Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Matthew 13:15
For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’

Acts 28:27
For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’

Romans 1:21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.

Ephesians 4:18-19
They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. / Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more.

Mark 8:17-18
Aware of their conversation, Jesus asked them, “Why are you debating about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Do you have such hard hearts? / ‘Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?’ And do you not remember?

John 12:40
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.”

2 Corinthians 3:14
But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed.

Hebrews 3:13
But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Proverbs 28:14
Blessed is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

Zechariah 7:12
They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts.

Ezekiel 3:7
But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.

Exodus 7:13
Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

1 Samuel 6:6
Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When He afflicted them, did they not send the people out so they could go on their way?


Treasury of Scripture

Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in your law.

heart is as fat

Psalm 17:10
They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.

Psalm 73:7
Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.

Isaiah 6:10
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

but I

Psalm 119:16,35
I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word…

Psalm 40:8
I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

Romans 7:22
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

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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














Their hearts are callous and insensitive
This phrase describes a spiritual condition where individuals are unresponsive to God's truth. The imagery of a "callous" heart suggests a hardening that prevents sensitivity to spiritual matters, akin to the hardened hearts of the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 7:3). Biblically, a callous heart is often associated with rebellion against God (Ezekiel 36:26). In the New Testament, Jesus speaks of the people's hearts growing dull (Matthew 13:15), indicating a similar spiritual insensitivity. This condition is a result of persistent sin and rejection of God's word, leading to a lack of understanding and responsiveness to His commands.

but I delight in Your law
In contrast to the callous hearts, the psalmist expresses joy and pleasure in God's law. This delight is not merely intellectual but involves a deep, heartfelt appreciation for God's instructions. The law here refers to the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, which were central to Jewish life and worship. The psalmist's delight reflects a personal relationship with God, where His commandments are seen as life-giving and beneficial (Psalm 1:2). This delight is echoed in the New Testament, where Jesus fulfills the law (Matthew 5:17) and believers are called to love God's commandments (John 14:15). The psalmist's attitude serves as a model for believers, emphasizing the importance of valuing and meditating on God's word as a source of wisdom and guidance.

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

2. The Wicked
Those whose hearts are described as "hard and callous," representing individuals who reject or are indifferent to God's commandments.

3. God's Law
The divine instructions and commandments given by God, which the psalmist delights in and meditates upon.
Teaching Points
Understanding Hardness of Heart
The Hebrew word for "hard" (tuphash) implies insensitivity and stubbornness. Reflect on areas in your life where you might be resistant to God's guidance.

Delighting in God's Law
The psalmist finds joy and satisfaction in God's commandments. Consider how you can cultivate a similar delight in Scripture through regular study and meditation.

Contrast Between the Righteous and the Wicked
The psalmist contrasts his love for God's law with the indifference of the wicked. Evaluate your own life to ensure you are aligning more with the psalmist's attitude.

Spiritual Sensitivity
Pray for a heart that is sensitive to God's voice and responsive to His Word, avoiding the spiritual numbness described in the verse.

Transformation Through Scripture
Allow God's Word to transform your heart, moving from callousness to a vibrant, living faith.(70) As fat as grease.--For this emblem of pride and insensibility, see Psalm 17:10; Psalm 73:7; Isaiah 6:10.

Verse 70. - Their heart is as fat as grease; i.e. dull, gross, insensible to spiritual things (see Psalm 17:10; Isaiah 6:10). But I delight in thy Law. My heart is unlike theirs. Thy Law is a "delight" to it (comp. yore. 16, 24, 35, etc.).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Their hearts
לִבָּ֑ם (lib·bām)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3820: The heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect, centre

are hard
טָפַ֣שׁ (ṭā·p̄aš)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2954: To be thick, to be stupid

and callous,
כַּחֵ֣לֶב (ka·ḥê·leḇ)
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2459: Fat, richest, choice part

but I
אֲ֝נִ֗י (’ă·nî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

delight
שִֽׁעֲשָֽׁעְתִּי׃ (ši·‘ă·šā·‘ə·tî)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 8173: To look upon, fondle, please, amuse, to look about, stare

in Your law.
תּוֹרָתְךָ֥ (tō·w·rā·ṯə·ḵā)
Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 8451: Direction, instruction, law


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OT Poetry: Psalm 119:70 Their heart is as callous as (Psalm Ps Psa.)
Psalm 119:69
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