Psalms 119:172 · Bible study
Psalms 119:172 Commentary: Singing God's Righteous Word
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Discover why the psalmist asks to sing of God’s word and how the righteousness of every commandment fuels his praise.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The psalmist commits to praise God’s word because every commandment is completely just.
- Key words: sing/answer (ta’an H6030), tongue (lashon H3956), word (imrah H565), commandments (mitsvah H4687), righteousness (tzedek H6664).
- Main debate: Whether “sing” implies musical accompaniment or simply articulate speech, and whether the verb is a request (optative) or a declaration (future).
- Theological theme: The inherent righteousness of God’s law and the fitting response of joyful praise.
- Best use: Encouraging the practice of speaking and singing Scripture as an act of worship and personal testimony.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
My tongue sings of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteous.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Let my tongue sing of your word, for all your commandments are righteousness.
KJV King James Version 1769
My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Let my tongue sing of thy word; For all thy commandments are righteousness.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
My tongue doth sing of Thy saying, For all Thy commands are righteous.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
My tongue shall speak aloud of thy *word; for all thy commandments are righteousness.
Translations in other languages (9 available)
Hablará mi lengua tus dichos; porque todos tus mandamientos son justicia.
Minha língua falará de tua palavra, porque todos os teus mandamentos são justiça.
Que ma langue chante ta parole!
Meine Zunge soll ihr Gespräch haben von deinem Wort; denn alle deine Gebote sind recht.
Mijn tong zal spraak houden van Uw rede, want al Uw geboden zijn rechtvaardigheid.
La mia lingua celebrerà la tua parola, perché tutti i tuoi comandamenti sono giustizia.
Opowiadać będzie język mój wyroki twoje; bo wszystkie przykazania twoje są sprawiedliwość.
願我的舌頭 歌唱 你的話，因 你一切的 命令 盡都公義。
Let my tongue make songs in praise of your word; for all your teachings are righteousness.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Psalms 119:172
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse expresses the psalmist’s committed, joyful response to God’s word. The verb “sing” (Hebrew ta’an) carries the nuance of “answering” or “striking up” a song (Keil-Delitzsch). Barnes interprets the tongue speaking of God’s word “in the language of praise” and “making it known to others.” Gill expands this into a catalogue of what the word offers: truth, purity, power, comfort, and precious promises. Matthew Henry sees both praise to God and discourse for the edification of others. All point to the same foundation: “for all your commandments are righteousness.” The psalmist is convinced that every commandment is not merely right but is righteousness itself, the perfect standard of justice (Matthew Henry, Barnes). This conviction compels his praise. Adam Clarke draws a distinction between “uttering” sounds in the previous verse and “speaking” articulate words here, suggesting that the word of God itself becomes the content of intelligible praise.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The psalmist is committed to praising God's word because he regards every single commandment as perfectly righteous.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The nature of the praise (sing/answer) | Christians agree this is a positive, joyful response to God's word. | Some read it as a request (let my tongue sing, WEB, Keil-Delitzsch); others as a declaration (my tongue shall speak, KJV, Darby). Adam Clarke distinguishes between the 'utterance' of v.171 (sounds with music) and the articulate 'speaking' of v.172. |
| The basis for praise: 'all your commandments are righteousness' | All agree God's commands are perfectly just and good. | Some emphasize this righteousness as an attribute of the commands themselves (Matthew Henry: 'the rule and standard of righteousness'), while others focus on their effect in promoting holiness (Gill). |
| The tongue’s purpose: worship or witness | The tongue should speak of God's word. | Some stress personal worship (praising God for what He gives); others stress public instruction (Barnes: 'making it known to others'). Matthew Henry includes both, but leans toward discourse for edification. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm, 176 verses arranged in twenty-two acrostic stanzas, each stanza beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The Tav stanza (verses 169-176) closes the entire composition. Throughout the psalm the writer alternates between petition, praise, and protest against enemies who despise God’s law. Here he prays, “Let my cry come before you” (v.169), “Let my supplication come before you” (v.170), and then immediately pivots to praise: “Let my lips utter praise” (v.171) and “Let my tongue sing of your word” (v.172). This pattern is typical of Hebrew prayer: a request for deliverance is grounded in a promise of praise.
The cultural context of ancient Israel included the practice of responding to God’s acts with sung praise, often in the temple liturgy. The verb ta’an can mean “to answer,” suggesting that the psalmist’s song is a response to God’s own word, a liturgical exchange (Keil-Delitzsch). The setting is likely one of personal persecution (v.86, 134, 176) yet the psalmist does not waver in declaring that “all your commandments are righteousness.” This echoes the Deuteronomy tradition (Deut 6:7) of teaching and talking about God’s commands throughout daily life. The psalmist’s youth is hinted at in earlier stanzas (v.9, 99-100), and he faces opposition from powerful adversaries, making his resolve to praise all the more remarkable.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Hebrew text is stable across the major manuscripts and versions, with identical readings in the MT, LXX, and Syriac witnesses that the commentators reference.
Reception History
Psalm 119 has been used in both Jewish and Christian worship as a meditation on the law. This verse, appearing in the final stanza, has been read as the psalmist’s climactic declaration of commitment. Puritan commentators like Matthew Henry and Baptist expositors like John Gill drew on it to encourage preaching and conversation about Scripture. In the broader tradition, the verse is often cited to show that praise of God’s commands is not only a duty but a natural response to their beauty and justice. The Anglican Book of Common Prayer includes Psalm 119 in the monthly psalter, keeping this verse in regular liturgical use. The phrase “all your commandments are righteousness” has also been employed in catechetical instruction to summarize the moral character of God’s law.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The psalmist’s resolve. “Let my tongue sing”, a deliberate choice to praise despite circumstances.
- The content of praise. “Your word”, the specific focus on God’s revealed instruction.
- The ground of praise. “All your commandments are righteousness”, not just some, but every single command is perfectly just.
Five-point outline
- Instrument: The tongue, the most personal organ of speech.
- Action: Sing/answer, a responsive, joyful declaration.
- Object: Your word, the Scripture in its fullness.
- Affirmation: All your commandments are righteousness, absolute moral perfection.
- Outcome: Praise spills into witness, others hear and learn.
Illustration hooks
- A person who initially resists a strict medical diet, then later sees the wisdom in it and begins to recommend it to others.
- A craftsman who learns the value of precise instructions and defends them to apprentices who want to take shortcuts.
- A community that preserves its heritage through songs that celebrate the founding principles, songs sung even when the community is under threat.
Questions your congregation is asking
- “How can I genuinely praise God’s commands when I struggle to obey them?”
- “What does it mean that commandments are ‘righteousness’, is it about God’s character or the effect they have on me?”
- “Does my everyday speech about God’s word reflect my belief that His commandments are all righteous?”
Leading a Discussion
The psalmist shows us that praise is not only for deliverance but also for the character of God’s word itself. He wants his tongue to be in tune with God’s truth. This verse invites us to examine our own speech: do our words about Scripture match our conviction that every command is righteous?
Discussion questions
- Look at the surrounding verses (119:169-176). How does the psalmist connect his need for help to his commitment to praise?
- The Hebrew verb ta’an can mean “to answer” or “to sing.” Why does this nuance matter for understanding the verse?
- Why do you think the psalmist says “all your commandments” are righteousness, rather than “your commandments are righteous”?
- Read Deuteronomy 6:7 and Psalms 37:30. How do these cross-references expand the call to speak of God’s word?
- In what area of life do you find it hardest to believe that God’s commands are perfectly right? How might this verse change your perspective?
- How could you “answer” God’s word with praise this week in a conversation or in private worship?
- What keeps you from speaking of God’s word as freely as the psalmist does, fear, doubt, or simply lack of practice?
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)
| Deuteronomy 6:7 | and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. |
| Psalms 37:30 | The mouth of the righteous talks of wisdom. His tongue speaks justice. |
| Psalms 40:9 | I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly. Behold, I will not seal my lips, Yahweh, you know. |
| Psalms 40:10 | I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart. I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not concealed your loving kindness and your truth from the great assembly. |
| Psalms 78:4 | We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh, his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done. |
| Psalms 119:13 | With my lips, I have declared all the ordinances of your mouth. |
| Psalms 119:46 | I will also speak of your statutes before kings, and will not be disappointed. |
| Psalms 119:86 | All of your commandments are faithful. They persecute me wrongfully. Help me! |
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
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke draws a precise distinction between two types of verbal expression. "Lips utter" refers to sounds tied to music and grateful feeling, while "tongue speak" means articulate, intelligible words—specifically the words God himself has spoken, containing promises, redemptive purposes, and judgments.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes focuses on the compulsion behind speaking of God's word. He says the psalmist's tongue must praise and declare it because his impression that all God's commands are righteous is so deep that he cannot stay silent. He feels driven to vindicate them and give praise.
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 notes that the verb forms in these verses are optative, expressing a prayer rather than a declaration. The writer asks for a spirit of joyful, overflowing thankfulness for God's ongoing teaching, and for the righteous character of the law which forms the content of that teaching.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights that the psalmist's tongue does not merely recite God's word but earnestly pleads or entreats concerning it. This implies that speaking Scripture is an act of prayerful appeal, grounded in the conviction that every commandment is righteous and worthy of such devotion.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill lists a wide range of aspects of God's word that the psalmist's tongue should declare: its truth, purity, power, profit, preciousness, and pleasantness, along with its promises, doctrines, and precepts. He stresses that all the commandments are not merely righteous but righteousness itself, and he notes that some Jewish interpreters read the verse as a commitment to teach or praise God's word.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights that the phrase "speak of thy word" is more accurately "answer Thy word." For him, every expression of praise to God and His Word is a responsive acknowledgment, a reply that matches the perfections of the One being praised.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch stress that the poet's confession of going astray is not apostasy but the cry of a sheep in mortal danger who still knows his true home is with God. The petitions for understanding and deliverance go together because outward persecution and inner need for faith-strengthening are intertwined.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry observes that David calls God's commandments not merely righteous but righteousness itself, the very standard of what is right. This conviction compels David to speak of God's word continually, for the heart's abundance spills into speech and he desires others to be filled with it too.