Psalms in a BibleThe Psalms

Psalms 119:49-56 NKJV  ZAIN

Remember the word to Your servant,
Upon which You have caused me to hope.  
(50)  This is my comfort in my affliction,
For Your word has given me life.  
(51)  The proud have me in great derision,
Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.  
(52)  I remembered Your judgments of old,
O LORD, And have comforted myself.  
(53)  Indignation has taken hold of me
Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.  
(54)  Your statutes have been my songs
In the house of my pilgrimage.  
(55)  I remember Your name in the night, O LORD,
And I keep Your law.  
(56)  This has become mine,
Because I kept Your precepts.

Keywords of God’s Law: Word, Law, Judgments, Statutes, Precepts

One key thought makes me say Amen! V54 starts out, “Your statutes have been my songs!” I love and prefer to sing scripture-based songs when at all possible.

Today’s section of Psalms 119 begins with the Hebrew alphabet’s letter called “ZAIN.”

I got to thinking about this strange-looking and sounding letter. Later this week, I will give a pronunciation key. There are 22 letters in all. That’s all that’s in the Hebrew Alphabet.

There were fewer letters when English was used to translate scripture to KJV. Here’s an excerpt from the KJV historical site.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

(1) The 1611 original (with Gothic type): (see entire chapter)
1611 Original Gothic characters KJV Bible John 3:16

(2) A 1833 copy of a 1617 version (with Roman folio letters):
1833 copy of the 1617 KJV Bible - John 3:16

(3) A 1900-1970 Cambridge Edition of the King James Bible (based on the 1769 version):
1900-1970 Cambridge Edition of the King James Bible - John 3:16

English spelling differences in John 3:16

  • U = V (Example: loued = loved; gaue = gave)
  • y with ‘e’ above it was used as represent the ‘thorn’ character, which means ‘the’) [learn more]
  • nn (Sonne = Son)

Other spelling differences

  • V = U (Example: vnto = unto | See John 1:11. As a variation of the same letter, ‘V’ was used at the beginning of a word and ‘U’ within. )
  • VV = W (Example: svvord = sword) [The V was called a ‘U’, this is why we still call a W a ‘double U’]
  • I = J (Example: Iesus = Jesus | See John 1:17)
  • Long “s” letters look similar to “f” letters (Notice the ‘Old Testament’ type example on the right) [learn more]

Read the entire original 1611 King James Bible online…


Psalms 119 Explanation: Psalms 119 is the longest chapter in the bible. But remember. Psalms contain individual writings from multiple sources, so each “chapter” is like an eBook. Most psalms are better read as one would a poem. Break the chapter into small subsections of a sentence, and you’ll get the idea.

B.C. 444, This Psalm, which was probably composed by Ezra, is another of the alphabetical Psalms. It consists of twenty-two parts, answering to the number of the Hebrew letters, every part being divided into eight verses, and each verse beginning with that letter which forms the title of the part; that is, the first part of eight verses with א, the second with ב, etc. It is an elegant, important, and useful composition, the chief subjects of which are the excellence of God’s laws and the happiness of those who observe them.

Each psalm references God’s Word using many phrases and words:
Law, Testimonies, Precepts, Commandments, Statues, etc.


By Michael Gurley

Making Sense of Life, One Thought at a Time!