Psalms 119:52

Bible in Basic English (1941)

I have kept the memory of your decisions from times past, O Lord; and they have been my comfort.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

זָ֘כַ֤רְתִּי מִשְׁפָּטֶ֖יךָ מֵעוֹלָ֥ם ׀ יְהוָ֗ה וָֽאֶתְנֶחָֽם׃

Transliteration

zāḵartî mišpāṭeyḵā from-ʿôlām YHWH and-ʾeṯneḥām

Grammar Details

• *zāḵartî*: qal perfect 1st person singular - I have remembered
• *mišpāṭeyḵā*: masculine plural noun + 2nd person masculine singular suffix - your judgments
• *mēʿôlām*: preposition + masculine singular noun - from of old/ancient times
• *YHWH*: proper name - Yahweh/LORD
• *wāʾeṯneḥām*: conjunction + hithpael imperfect 1st person singular - and I comfort myself

Word Meanings

• *zāḵartî*: I have remembered/recalled/thought of
• *mišpāṭeyḵā*: your judgments/ordinances/regulations
• *mēʿôlām*: from ancient times/from of old/from everlasting
• *ʾeṯneḥām*: I comfort myself/am comforted/console myself

Referenced Verses

• Exod 14:29-30 : 29 But the children of Israel went through the sea walking on dry land, and the waters were a wall on their right side and on their left. 30 So that day the Lord gave Israel salvation from the hands of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the sea's edge.
• Num 16:3-9 : 3 They came together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take overmuch on yourselves, seeing that all the people are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; why then have you put yourselves in authority over the people of the Lord? 4 And Moses, hearing this, went down on his face; 5 And he said to Korah and his band, In the morning the Lord will make clear who are his, and who is holy, and who may come near him: the man of his selection will be caused to come near him. 6 So do this: let Korah and all his band take vessels for burning perfumes; 7 And put spices on the fire in them before the Lord tomorrow; then the man marked out by the Lord will be holy: you take overmuch on yourselves, you sons of Levi. 8 And Moses said to Korah, Give ear now, you sons of Levi: 9 Does it seem only a small thing to you that the God of Israel has made you separate from the rest of Israel, letting you come near himself to do the work of the House of the Lord, and to take your place before the people to do what has to be done for them; 10 Letting you, and all your brothers the sons of Levi, come near to him? and would you now be priests? 11 So you and all your band have come together against the Lord; and Aaron, who is he, that you are crying out against him? 12 Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: and they said, We will not come up: 13 Is it not enough that you have taken us from a land flowing with milk and honey, to put us to death in the waste land, but now you are desiring to make yourself a chief over us? 14 And more than this, you have not taken us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us a heritage of fields and vine-gardens: will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up. 15 Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, Give no attention to their offering: not one of their asses have I taken, or done wrong to any of them. 16 And Moses said to Korah, You and all your band are to come before the Lord tomorrow, you and they and Aaron: 17 And let every man take a vessel for burning perfumes, and put sweet spices in them; let every man take his vessel before the Lord, two hundred and fifty vessels; you and Aaron and everyone with his vessel. 18 So every man took his vessel and they put fire in them, with spices, and came to the door of the Tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 And Korah made all the people come together against them to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the glory of the Lord was seen by all the people. 20 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 21 Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them. 22 Then falling down on their faces they said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, because of one man's sin will your wrath be moved against all the people? 23 And the Lord said to Moses, 24 Say to the people, Come away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram. 25 So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the responsible men of Israel went with him. 26 And he said to the people, Come away now from the tents of these evil men, without touching anything of theirs, or you may be taken in the punishment of their sins. 27 So on every side they went away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram: and Dathan and Abiram came out to the door of their tents, with their wives and their sons and their little ones. 28 And Moses said, Now you will see that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and I have not done them of myself. 29 If these men have the common death of men, or if the natural fate of all men overtakes them, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord does something new, opening the earth to take them in, with everything which is theirs, and they go down living into the underworld, then it will be clear to you that the Lord has not been honoured by these men. 31 And while these words were on his lips, the earth under them was parted in two; 32 And the earth, opening her mouth, took them in, with their families, and all the men who were joined to Korah, and their goods. 33 So they and all theirs went down living into the underworld, and the earth was shut over them, and they were cut off from among the meeting of the people. 34 And all Israel round about them went in flight at their cry, For fear, said they, that we go down into the heart of the earth. 35 Then fire came out from the Lord, burning up the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the perfume.
• Deut 1:35-36 : 35 Truly, not one of this evil generation will see that good land which I said I would give to your fathers, 36 But only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, he will see it; and to him and to his children I will give the land over which his feet have gone, because he has been true to the Lord with all his heart.
• Deut 4:3-4 : 3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal-peor: for destruction came from the Lord on all those among you who went after Baal-peor. 4 But you who kept faith with the Lord are living, every one of you, today.
• Ps 77:5 : 5 My thoughts go back to the days of the past, to the years which are gone.
• Ps 77:11-12 : 11 I will keep in mind the works of Jah: I will keep the memory of your wonders in the past. 12 I will give thought to all your work, while my mind goes over your acts of power.
• Ps 103:18 : 18 If they keep his agreement, and have his laws in mind to do them.
• Ps 105:5 : 5 Keep in mind the great works which he has done; his wonders, and the decisions of his mouth;
• 2 Pet 2:4-9 : 4 For if God did not have pity for the angels who did evil, but sent them down into hell, to be kept in chains of eternal night till they were judged; 5 And did not have mercy on the world which then was, but only kept safe Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when he let loose the waters over the world of the evil-doers; 6 And sent destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah, burning them up with fire as an example to those whose way of life might in the future be unpleasing to him; 7 And kept safe Lot, the upright man, who was deeply troubled by the unclean life of the evil-doers 8 (Because the soul of that upright man living among them was pained from day to day by seeing and hearing their crimes): 9 The Lord is able to keep the upright safe in the time of testing, and to keep evil-doers under punishment till the day of judging;
• Ps 143:5 : 5 I keep in mind the early days of the past, giving thought to all your acts, even to the work of your hands.