Psalms 119:9

American Standard Version (1901)

BETH. Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed [thereto] according to thy word.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

בַּמֶּ֣ה יְזַכֶּה־נַּ֭עַר אֶת־אָרְח֑וֹ לִ֝שְׁמֹ֗ר כִּדְבָרֶֽךָ׃

Transliteration

In-meh yəzakkeh-naʿar ʾet-ʾorḥô to-šəmōr according-to-diḇāreḵā

Grammar Details

• In-*meh*: preposition *bə* + interrogative - in what/whereby
• *yəzakkeh*: Piel imperfect 3rd person masculine singular - he cleanses/purifies
• *naʿar*: masculine singular noun - young man/youth
• *ʾet*-*ʾorḥô*: direct object marker + masculine singular noun + 3rd person masculine singular suffix - his way
• to-*šəmōr*: preposition *lə* + Qal infinitive construct - to keep
• according-to-*diḇāreḵā*: preposition *kə* + masculine singular noun + 2nd person masculine singular suffix - according to your word

Word Meanings

• *meh*: what/how/whereby
• *yəzakkeh*: cleanse/purify/keep clean
• *naʿar*: young man/youth/boy/servant
• *ʾorḥô*: his way/path/journey/conduct
• *šəmōr*: keep/guard/observe/protect
• *diḇāreḵā*: your word/speech/matter/command

Referenced Verses

• Jas 1:21-25 : 21 Wherefore putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves. 23 For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror: 24 for he beholdeth himself, and goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But he that looketh into the perfect law, the [law] of liberty, and [so] continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing.
• 2 Tim 2:22 : 22 But flee youthful lusts, and follow after righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
• Josh 1:7 : 7 Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest have good success whithersoever thou goest.
• Ps 25:7 : 7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: According to thy lovingkindness remember thou me, For thy goodness' sake, O Jehovah.
• Ps 34:11 : 11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of Jehovah.
• 2 Tim 3:15-17 : 15 And that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 Every scripture inspired of God [is] also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness. 17 That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.
• Titus 2:4-6 : 4 that they may train the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 [ to be] sober-minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed: 6 the younger men likewise exhort to be sober-minded:
• Eccl 11:9-12:1 : 9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. 10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity. 1 Remember also thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
• John 15:3 : 3 Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you.
• Job 13:26 : 26 For thou writest bitter things against me, And makest me to inherit the iniquities of my youth:
• Ps 119:11 : 11 Thy word have I laid up in my heart, That I might not sin against thee.
• Ps 119:97-99 : 97 MEM. Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day. 98 Thy commandments make me wiser than mine enemies; For they are ever with me. 99 I have more understanding than all my teachers; For thy testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the aged, Because I have kept thy precepts. 101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, That I might observe thy word. 102 I have not turned aside from thine ordinances; For thou hast taught me. 103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! [Yea, sweeter] than honey to my mouth! 104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: Therefore I hate every false way. 105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And light unto my path.
• Prov 1:4 : 4 To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion:
• Prov 1:10 : 10 My son, if sinners entice thee, Consent thou not.
• Prov 4:1 : 1 Hear, [my] sons, the instruction of a father, And attend to know understanding:
• Prov 4:10-17 : 10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; And the years of thy life shall be many. 11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in paths of uprightness. 12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. 13 Take fast hold of instruction; Let her not go: Keep her; For she is thy life. 14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, And walk not in the way of evil men. 15 Avoid it, pass not by it; Turn from it, and pass on. 16 For they sleep not, except they do evil; And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.
• Prov 5:7-9 : 7 Now therefore, [my] sons, hearken unto me, And depart not from the words of my mouth. 8 Remove thy way far from her, And come not nigh the door of her house; 9 Lest thou give thine honor unto others, And thy years unto the cruel; 10 Lest strangers be filled with thy strength, And thy labors [be] in the house of an alien, 11 And thou mourn at thy latter end, When thy flesh and thy body are consumed, 12 And say, How have I hated instruction, And my heart despised reproof; 13 Neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! 14 I was well-nigh in all evil In the midst of the assembly and congregation. 15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, And running waters out of thine own well. 16 Should thy springs be dispersed abroad, And streams of water in the streets? 17 Let them be for thyself alone, And not for strangers with thee. 18 Let thy fountain be blessed; And rejoice in the wife of thy youth. 19 [ As] a loving hind and a pleasant doe, Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love. 20 For why shouldest thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, And embrace the bosom of a foreigner? 21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah; And he maketh level all his paths. 22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked, And he shall be holden with the cords of his sin. 23 He shall die for lack of instruction; And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
• Prov 6:20-35 : 20 My son, keep the commandment of thy father, And forsake not the law of thy mother: 21 Bind them continually upon thy heart; Tie them about thy neck. 22 When thou walkest, it shall lead thee; When thou sleepest, it shall watch over thee; And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. 23 For the commandment is a lamp; And the law is light; And reproofs of instruction are the way of life: 24 To keep thee from the evil woman, From the flattery of the foreigner's tongue. 25 Lust not after her beauty in thy heart; Neither let her take thee with her eyelids. 26 For on account of a harlot [a man is brought] to a piece of bread; And the adulteress hunteth for the precious life. 27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, And his clothes not be burned? 28 Or can one walk upon hot coals, And his feet not be scorched? 29 So he that goeth in to his neighbor's wife; Whosoever toucheth her shall not be unpunished. 30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal To satisfy himself when he is hungry: 31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; He shall give all the substance of his house. 32 He that committeth adultery with a woman is void of understanding: He doeth it who would destroy his own soul. 33 Wounds and dishonor shall he get; And his reproach shall not be wiped away. 34 For jealousy is the rage of a man; And he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35 He will not regard any ransom; Neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
• Prov 7:7 : 7 And I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, A young man void of understanding,
• Ps 1:1-3 : 1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of scoffers: 2 But his delight is in the law of Jehovah; And on his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water, That bringeth forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also doth not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
• Ps 19:7-9 : 7 The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul: The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart: The commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring for ever: The ordinances of Jehovah are true, [and] righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: In keeping them there is great reward.
• Ps 78:4-8 : 4 We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah, And his strength, and his wondrous works that he hath done. 5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which he commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; 6 That the generation to come might know [them], even the children that should be born; Who should arise and tell [them] to their children, 7 That they might set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep his commandments, 8 And might not be as their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that set not their heart aright, And whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
• Deut 6:6-9 : 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; 7 and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.
• Deut 17:18 : 18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of [that which is] before the priests the Levites:
• Job 1:5 : 5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.
• Luke 15:13 : 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country; and there he wasted his substance with riotous living.
• 2 Chr 6:16 : 16 Now therefore, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only thy children take heed to their way, to walk in my law as thou hast walked before me.