Psalms 119:136 · Bible study
Psalms 119:136 Commentary: Rivers of Tears Over Broken Law
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
What does it mean to weep over disobedience? Psalm 119:136 explores sorrow that is both righteous and compassionate.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The poet weeps profusely because people reject God's law, a grief that combines righteous indignation and deep compassion.
- Key words: Palgei mayim (streams of water), yarad (descend, flow down), shamar (observe, keep), torah (instruction, law).
- Main debate: Does 'they' refer to others' sins or the psalmist's own eyes? The dominant reading is grief over others; a minority tradition (Kimchi) sees self-accusation.
- Theological theme: The sorrow of God over sin, mediated through the faithful, a model of intercessory grief.
- Best use: Teaching on compassion, intercession, and the proper emotional response to widespread disobedience.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Streams of tears run down my eyes, because they don’t observe your law. TZADHE
KJV King James Version 1769
Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Streams of water run down mine eyes, Because they observe not thy law. צ TSADHE.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Rivulets of waters have come down mine eyes, Because they have not kept Thy law!
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Mine eyes run down with streams of water, because they keep not thy law.
Translations in other languages (9 available)
Ríos de agua descendieron de mis ojos, porque no guardaban tu ley.
Ribeiros d'água descem de meus olhos, porque eles não guardam tua lei.
Mes yeux répandent des torrents d’ eaux,
Meine Augen fließen mit Wasser, daß man dein Gesetz nicht hält.
Waterbeken vlieten af uit mijn ogen, omdat zij Uw wet niet onderhouden.
Rivi di lacrime mi scendon giù dagli occhi, perché la tua legge non è osservata.
Strumienie wód płyną z oczów moich dla tych, którzy nie strzegli zakonu twego.
我的眼淚 下流 成河，因為 他們不 守 你的律法。
Rivers of water are flowing from my eyes, because men do not keep your law.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 119:136
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that the psalmist's grief is both intense and godly. The Hebrew verb yarad (to go down) is used with an accusative: my eyes have let down streams of water. This is not gentle weeping but a flood. Barnes notes the connection to Jesus weeping over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41) and Paul's 'great heaviness' for his kinsmen (Romans 9:2-3). Matthew Henry calls it 'godly sorrow', not for personal trouble but for the dishonour done to God. Keil and Delitzsch stress that the mood is not 'unfeeling self-glorying' but sorrow like Jeremiah's. The Cambridge Bible adds that righteous indignation (seen earlier in verse 53) is here 'tempered by profound sorrow and pity.' The dominant reading is that 'they' refers to those who disregard God's law, not the psalmist's own eyes, though a minority tradition (Kimchi, cited by Gill) interprets it as self-condemnation. The consensus points to a heart that grieves because others reject God's commands, and this grief is a mark of true piety.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Righteous indignation / compassion for others: Supported by majority of Christian commentators (Barnes, Henry, Keil & Delitzsch) who read 'they' as the wicked of the surrounding context (verses 53, 139, 158).
- Self-condemnation: A minority Jewish tradition (Kimchi, Ben Melech, cited by Gill) reads 'they' as the speaker's own eyes, which led him into sin. This view is supported by the grammar — the pronoun is ambiguous.
What is clear: The psalmist experiences deep, flowing tears because of the disregard for God's law — whether his own or others' — and this sorrow is presented as a fitting response to sin.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of the grief | All commentators see it as intense and godly, not self-centred or bitter. | Some read it as primarily righteous indignation (anger at lawlessness), others as tender compassion. The Cambridge Bible reconciles them as 'indignation tempered by sorrow.' |
| Object of the tears | The majority view is that the psalmist weeps over the disobedience of others. | Kimchi and a few Jewish interpreters take 'they' to refer to the poet's own eyes, the cause of his sin. Christian commentators mostly reject this, but Gill notes its existence. |
| Emotion versus action | Feeling deeply about others' sin is appropriate and a mark of true piety. | Protestant commentators (Barnes, Henry) stress that this sorrow leads to prayer and evangelism. Some in the Pietist tradition emphasise emotional identification, while Reformed focus on the honour of God. |
| Relevance for today | Believers should care about the state of those who reject God's law. | How that care is expressed varies: some advocate public lament and prayer, others practical acts of mercy, others prophetic confrontation. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem, each of its 22 stanzas corresponding to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The Tsadhe stanza (verses 137, 144) opens with a declaration of God's righteousness and closes with a plea for understanding. Verse 136 sits at the hinge: the psalmist has just asked for God's face to shine on him (verse 135), and now he explains the depth of his sorrow.
The phrase 'streams of water' (פַּלְגֵי מַיִם) is vivid hyperbole, common in lament literature. Jeremiah cries out for his head to become a spring of tears (Jeremiah 9:1). Lamentations describes the prophet's eyes flowing with rivers of water (Lamentations 3:48). This is the language of public lament, not private grief. The psalmist likely felt the weight of Israel's covenant unfaithfulness, a king or a teacher observing a people who had turned from Torah.
In ancient Israel, tears over sin were not merely emotional. They were a form of intercession. To weep for the law's neglect was to stand in the breach, pleading for God's mercy. The tears themselves were a sacrifice (Psalm 51:17). This context helps us see that the psalmist's grief is both a response to what is, the reality of disobedience, and a cry for what could be: restoration. He does not despair; he mourns, and in mourning he hopes.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Psalm 119:136. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, with the only variation being the spelling of the Tsadhe heading in some later copies. The Septuagint and Vulgate read 'because I have not kept your law' for the second half, but Gill and others judge this to be a mistaken reading, likely influenced by the context of personal confession. The consensus follows the Masoretic Text.
Reception History
Psalm 119:136 has been a source of comfort and challenge across church history. Early monastic communities saw it as a model for compunction, the 'gift of tears' that accompanies true repentance. Augustine referenced the psalmist's tears as evidence of a soul in love with God's righteousness. In the medieval period, Bernard of Clairvaux and others used this verse to teach that holy sorrow over sin is a mark of spiritual maturity. The Reformation returned to the literal sense: Calvin and his followers stressed that the tears are over the dishonour done to God, not merely human tragedy. Wesleyan tradition picked up the verse's emotive force, linking it to sanctification and social holiness. In the modern era, it has been used to encourage intercessory prayer for the lost and to critique a church that feels little over the moral decline around it.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Deep sorrow over sin, not just a sigh. The verb yarad suggests a descent of tears, like a river. This is no casual complaint. The psalmist's eyes 'let down' streams, an image of overwhelming grief.
- Grief centred on God's honour. The cause is stated plainly: 'They don’t observe your law.' It is not a general sadness about human failure, but a specific sorrow that God's authority is rejected.
- This sorrow is a sign of genuine faith. Barnes argues that nothing indicates true piety more than deep compassion for sinners. The tears of the psalmist mirror Christ's tears over Jerusalem. It is the response of a heart united to God's own concerns.
Five-point outline
- The quantity of tears, rivers, not drops. The Hebrew palgei mayim emphasises flow and volume.
- The source, the eyes. The eye is both the window and the outlet. Matthew Henry notes the eye is 'the inlet and outlet of sin' and should therefore weep.
- The cause, law disregarded. The object is not the psalmist's own suffering but the public neglect of Torah.
- The tension, indignation and compassion. Cambridge Bible points out that earlier (verse 53) the psalmist felt hot indignation; here it gives way to sorrow.
- The call, to share God's heart. This verse challenges believers to feel what God feels about sin, not cold judgment, but grieving love.
Illustration hooks
- A parent watching a child walk away from the faith, the tears that come not from anger but from love, and from knowing the cost of that choice.
- A teacher who sees a student choose a destructive path, the ache that makes the lesson personal, not just professional.
- A community that witnesses the breakdown of moral standards in its own congregation, the quiet weeping of elders who pray through the night.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is it wrong to weep over the sins of others, or is that judgmental?
- How can I tell if my grief for others is godly sorrow or just frustration?
- What do I do when I feel numb to the disobedience around me?
Leading a Discussion
The psalmist's tears invite us to examine our own hearts. Do we feel anything when God's law is ignored? This passage stretches our emotions, it gives permission to grieve, but it also shows us the shape of holy grief. As you work through these questions, let the text search your heart rather than your neighbourhood.
Discussion questions
- Read verse 136 aloud. What first strikes you about the intensity of the language?
- The Hebrew word yarad means 'to go down.' In what ways do tears 'go down', physically, emotionally, spiritually?
- Compare this verse with Psalm 119:53, where the psalmist feels indignation. Why might indignation turn to weeping?
- Who are 'they' in this verse? Why do you think the psalmist leaves the subject unnamed?
- Barnes says that such sorrow is a sign of true piety. Do you agree? Can a person be holy and not weep for others' sin?
- How does this verse challenge our culture's emphasis on non-judgmentalism? Is it possible to mourn over someone's disobedience without condemning them?
- What would it look like for your church community to 'weep rivers of tears' over the disregard for God’s law in your community? What might change?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| I Samuel 15:11 | “It grieves me that I have set up Saul to be king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments.” Samuel was angry; and he cried to Yahweh all night. |
| Psalms 119:53 | Indignation has taken hold on me, because of the wicked who forsake your law. |
| Psalms 119:158 | I look at the faithless with loathing, because they don’t observe your word. |
| Jeremiah 9:1 | Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a spring of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! |
| Jeremiah 9:18 | Let them make haste and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears and our eyelids gush out with waters. |
| Jeremiah 13:17 | But if you will not hear it, my soul will weep in secret for your pride. My eye will weep bitterly, and run down with tears, because Yahweh’s flock has been taken captive. |
| Jeremiah 14:17 | “You shall say this word to them: “‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous wound. |
| Ezekiel 9:4 | Yahweh said to him, “Go through the middle of the city, through the middle of Jerusalem, and set a mark on the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
11 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Rivers of waters run down mine eyes - How much had this blessed man the honor of God and the salvation of souls at heart! O for more of that spirit which mourns for the transgressions of the land! But we are not properly convinced of the exceeding sinfulness of sin.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes emphasizes that the psalmist's grief is no mild sorrow but a torrent of tears, driven by distress over others' disobedience to God's law. He argues that such deep compassion for sinners is a sure mark of true piety and often precedes revival. He laments that modern believers feel this anguish far too rarely.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin pushes back against the common assumption that Psalm 119 is a jumble of unrelated thoughts. He insists the psalm has a coherent twofold aim: urging believers toward godly living and laying out the true pattern of worship by centering on God's law. The variations in topic do not mean it lacks connection.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator highlights a striking contrast within the Psalmist's heart: the same indignation against lawlessness that burned in one moment gives way to deep, streaming grief in another. This sorrow is not weakness but righteous pity, showing how love for God's law tempers even holy anger.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The commentator highlights the cause of the psalmist's extreme grief: the law of God is not being kept. The overflowing tears are not a general sorrow but a specific lament over people's disobedience to God's commandments, which the psalmist holds as precious.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasizes that the psalmist's flood of tears is not over his own sins but over the open, flagrant lawbreaking of wicked men. The distress comes from seeing God's authority trampled and His name dishonored. Gill rejects interpretations that shift the grief to personal failure.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights that the psalmist's grief is not for his own failings but for others' disregard of God's law. He is personally zealous to keep it, so when others break it, his eyes literally stream with tears "like water brooks," a vivid image of unending sorrow.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch emphasizes that the psalmist's deep yearning for God's word arises from grief over those who reject it. They note that God's testimonies are paradoxical and beyond everyday understanding, and that only God himself can disclose their mysteries to the humble seeker. Love for God creates a reciprocal claim on His saving grace.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues that Psalm 119, despite its artificial alphabetic structure and many repetitions
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry observes that David's tears flow not from his own hardships but from a godly sorrow over others' disobedience to God's law. True saints mourn the dishonor done to God even more than their own troubles, and this weeping shows a gracious heart conformed to Christ.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley explains that the rivers refer to an abundance of tears. These tears testify to a deep grief caused by two things at once: the dishonor done to God and the miseries that sinners bring upon themselves.