Psa 119:147 | KD | STEP | The eightfold Koph . Fidelity to God’s word, and deliverance according to His promise, is the purport of his unceasing prayer. Even in the morning twilight (נשׁף) he was awake praying. It is not הנּשׁף, I anticipated the twilight; nor is קדּמתּי, according to , equivalent to קדמתיך, but ואשׁוּע...קדּמתּי is the resolution of the otherwise customary construction קדמתי לשׁוּע, , inasmuch as קדּם may signify “to go before” ( ), and also “to make haste (with anything):” even early before the morning’s dawn I cried. Instead of לדבריך the Kerî (Targum, Syriac, Jerome) more appropriately reads לדברך after , , Psa 119:114. But his eyes also anticipated the night-watches, inasmuch as they did not allow themselves to be caught not sleeping by any of them at their beginning (cf. לראשׁ, ). אמרה is here, as in , , and frequently, the whole word of God, whether in its requirements or its promises. In בּמשׁפּטך is a defective plural as in (vid., on ), according to , although according to the singular (lxx, Targum, Jerome) would also be admissible: what is meant is God’s order of salvation, or His appointments that relate thereto. The correlative relation of and is rendered natural by the position of the words. With קרבוּ (cf. קרב) is associated the idea of rushing upon him with hostile purpose, and with קרוב, as in ; , of hastening to his succour. זמּה is infamy that is branded by the law: they go forth purposing this, but God’s law is altogether self-verifying truth. And the poet has long gained the knowledge from it that it does not aim at merely temporary recompense. The sophisms of the apostates cannot therefore lead him astray. יסדתּם for יסדתּן, like המּה in Psa 119:111.

‏ Psalms 119:147

The eightfold Koph. Fidelity to God’s word, and deliverance according to His promise, is the purport of his unceasing prayer. Even in the morning twilight (נשׁף) he was awake praying. It is not הנּשׁף, I anticipated the twilight; nor is קדּמתּי, according to Psa 89:14, equivalent to קדמתיך, but ואשׁוּע...קדּמתּי is the resolution of the otherwise customary construction קדמתי לשׁוּע, Jon 4:2, inasmuch as קדּם may signify “to go before” (Psa 68:26), and also “to make haste (with anything):” even early before the morning’s dawn I cried. Instead of לדבריך the Kerî (Targum, Syriac, Jerome) more appropriately reads לדברך after Psa 119:74, Psa 119:81, Psa 119:114. But his eyes also anticipated the night-watches, inasmuch as they did not allow themselves to be caught not sleeping by any of them at their beginning (cf. לראשׁ, Lam 2:19). אמרה is here, as in Psa 119:140, Psa 119:158, and frequently, the whole word of God, whether in its requirements or its promises. In Psa 119:149 בּמשׁפּטך is a defective plural as in Psa 119:43 (vid., on Psa 119:37), according to Psa 119:156, although according to Psa 119:132 the singular (lxx, Targum, Jerome) would also be admissible: what is meant is God’s order of salvation, or His appointments that relate thereto. The correlative relation of Psa 119:150 and Psa 119:151 is rendered natural by the position of the words. With קרבוּ (cf. קרב) is associated the idea of rushing upon him with hostile purpose, and with קרוב, as in Psa 69:19; Isa 58:2, of hastening to his succour. זמּה is infamy that is branded by the law: they go forth purposing this, but God’s law is altogether self-verifying truth. And the poet has long gained the knowledge from it that it does not aim at merely temporary recompense. The sophisms of the apostates cannot therefore lead him astray. יסדתּם for יסדתּן, like המּה in Psa 119:111.