I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.

PSALMS 119:158KJV
Know the Bible

Psalms 119:158 (KJV)

What does Psalms 119:158 mean?

Psalms 119:158 describes the psalmist seeing people who break God's commands and feeling deeply troubled because they do not follow God's word. The verse highlights the psalmist's sorrow over others' disregard for what God has said.

In this verse, the writer (traditionally understood as David, though not named) is speaking to God about his emotional response to witnessing "transgressors"—people who ignore or violate God's instructions. The situation is one of personal grief, not anger, showing the psalmist's strong attachment to God's word and his sadness when others do not share that respect.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 119:158

  • "beheld" (רָאָה, ra'ah): This word means to see or look upon. Here, it suggests not just a casual glance but a careful noticing of those who do wrong.
  • "transgressors" (בּוֹגְדִים, bogedim): This term refers to people who act unfaithfully or betray trust, often used for those who deliberately turn away from what is right.
  • "grieved" (קוּט, kut): This word carries the sense of being disgusted, distressed, or pained. The psalmist is not just sad but deeply troubled by what he sees.
  • "kept" (שָׁמַר, shamar): This means to guard, observe, or pay close attention to. The verse points out that the transgressors are not guarding or living by God's word.
  • "word" (אֵמֶר, emer): This refers to God's spoken or commanded word, emphasizing the importance of what God has said.

Why Psalms 119:158 matters

  • Psalms 119:158 clarifies that the psalmist's grief is not personal offense but sorrow over others' disregard for God's word, highlighting a heart that values God's instructions deeply.
  • The verse shows that the psalmist is attentive to the behavior of others, not in judgment but in genuine distress, which adds emotional depth to the long meditation on God's law in Psalm 119.
  • This verse connects to the wider theme of Psalm 119, where love for God's word is shown not only in personal obedience but also in emotional response to how others treat it.

Where else these words appear

“grieved” Hebrew H6962 · used in 7 verses

  • Psalms 95:10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
  • Ezekiel 6:9 And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
  • Ezekiel 20:43 And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.

“word” Hebrew H565 · used in 35 verses

  • Genesis 4:23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
  • Psalms 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.
  • Psalms 119:154 Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word.

“transgressors” Hebrew H898 · used in 39 verses

  • Exodus 21:8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
  • Proverbs 13:15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.
  • Jeremiah 9:2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.