Psalm 119:73 kjv
Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
Psalm 119:73 nkjv
Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
Psalm 119:73 niv
Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands.
Psalm 119:73 esv
Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
Psalm 119:73 nlt
You made me; you created me.
Now give me the sense to follow your commands.
Psalm 119 73 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 1:26-27 | Then God said, “Let us make man in our image...So God created man in his own image...male and female he created them." | God as Creator of humanity in His image. |
| Gen 2:7 | "then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life..." | God's intimate and detailed formation of man. |
| Job 10:8-9 | "Your hands fashioned and made me wholly, yet you now would swallow me up...Remember that you have made me as clay; and will you return me to dust?" | Echoes "made and fashioned" by God's hands. |
| Job 33:4 | "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life." | God as the life-giver and maker. |
| Ps 100:3 | "Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." | He made us, therefore we belong to Him. |
| Isa 45:9 | "Woe to him who strives with his Maker, an earthen vessel with the potter! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making’...?" | God as the ultimate potter/maker; creator has authority. |
| Isa 64:8 | "But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand." | God as our potter; we are His creation. |
| Eph 2:10 | "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works..." | Believers are God's deliberate creation with a purpose. |
| Acts 17:24-25 | "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth...he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything." | God as universal Creator and Sustainer. |
| Prov 2:6 | "For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." | God is the source of all understanding. |
| Prov 4:7 | "The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight." | Emphasizes the supreme value of acquiring understanding. |
| 1 Ki 3:9-12 | Solomon's prayer for "an understanding heart to judge your people..." and God granting it. | Seeking wisdom/understanding from God for His service. |
| Dan 2:20-21 | Daniel praised God saying, "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might...He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding." | God as the dispenser of wisdom and understanding. |
| Lk 24:45 | "Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures." | Jesus (God) gives the spiritual capacity to understand His Word. |
| 1 Cor 2:10-14 | "these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit...Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand..." | Understanding spiritual truths requires the Holy Spirit. |
| Jas 1:5 | "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." | Encouragement to ask God for wisdom/understanding. |
| Col 1:9 | "praying that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding." | Paul's prayer for spiritual understanding for believers. |
| Deut 6:6-7 | "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children..." | Command to diligently learn and pass on God's precepts. |
| Ps 19:7-11 | Describes the perfection of God's law and how it makes "wise the simple" and brings great reward. | God's law imparts wisdom and understanding. |
| Ps 119:34 | "Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart." | Direct parallel request for understanding leading to obedience. |
| Ps 119:100 | "I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts." | Understanding deepened by adhering to God's precepts. |
| Jer 31:33 | "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel...I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts..." | God's desire to give internal understanding of His law. |
| Heb 8:10 | Quotes Jer 31:33, emphasizing the New Covenant promise of God's law written on hearts. | The Spirit enabling inward understanding and obedience to God's law. |
| Rom 12:2 | "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God..." | Renewal of mind for discernment of God's will. |
Psalm 119 verses
Psalm 119 73 Meaning
Psalm 119:73 is a powerful declaration and an earnest prayer rooted in the psalmist's understanding of God's intimate relationship with humanity. It first establishes God's absolute sovereignty as the Creator, proclaiming, "Your hands have made and fashioned me." This acknowledges God as his intelligent designer and giver of life, affirming his dependence on Him for existence itself. Flowing directly from this foundational truth, the psalmist then humbly petitions God, "give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments." This request reveals a recognition that true comprehension of God's divine will, precepts, and laws—his "commandments"—requires spiritual illumination directly from their divine Author. It seamlessly links the truth of God as the Maker of all things with His essential role as the divine Teacher, providing necessary insight for His creation to live in accordance with His perfect design and purpose.
Psalm 119 73 Context
Psalm 119 is the longest psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible, structured as an elaborate acrostic poem with 22 stanzas, each corresponding to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each of the eight verses within a stanza begins with that letter. The entire psalm is a sustained hymn of praise and devotion to the Word of God—its statutes, precepts, commands, judgments, decrees, and laws. It articulates the psalmist's deep love for God's instruction, his delight in it, and his dependence upon it for guidance, comfort, and deliverance amidst various trials and adversaries.
Verse 73 is part of the "Yodh" (י) section (verses 73-80). In this section, the psalmist speaks very personally to God, often mentioning His hands, eyes, and works. The verse grounds the subsequent petitions in the reality of God's creation of the psalmist. Following this foundational appeal, the section continues to highlight the psalmist's reliance on God's steadfast love, his hope in God's word (v. 74), and the contrast between his humble pursuit of God's law and the insolence of the proud who scorn him (v. 75-78). By opening this section with an acknowledgment of divine creation, the psalmist establishes a powerful basis for requesting divine enablement and understanding, tying his very existence to his purpose: to know and obey God.
Psalm 119 73 Word analysis
- Your hands (יָדֶיךָ - yadeyka): This is an anthropomorphic expression, attributing human characteristics (hands) to God. It symbolizes God's direct, personal, active, and powerful involvement in creation. It suggests deliberate, careful craftsmanship and intimate contact, far more than a distant decree. The emphasis is on His sovereign work as a craftsman.
- have made (עָשׂוּ - asu): From the Hebrew verb עָשָׂה (asah), meaning to make, create, do, or perform. This verb refers to the general act of bringing something into existence or creating. Here, it denotes the initial bringing forth of life, the foundational act of creation, attributing the psalmist's very existence to God.
- and fashioned (כּוֹנְנוּ - konenu): From כּוּן (kun), this term in its Polel stem form means to establish, prepare, set in order, form, or secure. It implies meticulous care, purposeful design, and detailed arrangement beyond mere existence. It signifies that God did not simply make humanity but skillfully formed and intricately organized each individual with specific features, capabilities, and purpose. It speaks of divine craftsmanship and tailored design.
- me: The intensely personal pronoun highlights that the psalmist is not speaking abstractly about humanity but making a specific, individual confession of God's personal work in his own life. This personal connection forms the basis for his prayer.
- give me (בִּינֵנִי - bineni): This is a Hiphil imperative form of the verb בִּין (bin), meaning to discern, understand, perceive, or distinguish. The Hiphil stem indicates causing someone to do something. So, it is a request for God to cause or enable him to understand. It implies a need for divine enlightenment and not merely human effort.
- understanding: This refers to practical discernment, insight, and the capacity to grasp profound spiritual truths and apply them ethically and wisely in life. It's a comprehensive spiritual comprehension, distinct from superficial or intellectual knowledge.
- that I may learn (אֶלְמְדָה - elmedah): From לָמַד (lamad), meaning to learn or to teach. The imperfect tense, often interpreted with a cohortative nuance due to context and spelling, expresses a strong desire, purpose, or intention. It indicates the psalmist’s readiness and yearning to actively acquire, internalize, and apply knowledge, emphasizing an ongoing process of diligent study and submission. Learning here is for the sake of living obediently.
- your commandments (מִצְוֺתֶיךָ - mitzvotekha): Derived from מִצְוָה (mitzvah), referring to God's divine decrees, precepts, statutes, or instructions. These are the revealed will of God, not arbitrary rules, but the perfect and holy guidelines for human conduct that lead to blessing and align humanity with God’s own character.
Word Groupings
- "Your hands have made and fashioned me": This powerful opening phrase lays the theological foundation for the entire prayer. It underscores God's omnipotence and personal involvement in creation, establishing His divine authority and proprietorship over the psalmist's life. "Made" points to existence, "fashioned" to intricate, purposeful design. This acknowledges not only existence from God but a unique, individual identity given by Him, thus setting the stage for why one should turn to the Maker for instruction.
- "give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments": This constitutes the core petition. It reveals a recognition of human inability to fully grasp divine truths without divine aid. The sequence is crucial: understanding is given so that learning can occur, and learning leads to obedience to the commandments. It shows a humble reliance on God for spiritual illumination and implies that true spiritual learning is a continuous process empowered by grace, aiming always at obedience to God’s revealed will.
Psalm 119 73 Bonus section
- The appeal to "Your hands" creating the psalmist is a fundamental aspect of human identity in the Judeo-Christian worldview. It contrasts sharply with philosophies that attribute human origin to chance or blind evolution, underscoring the intrinsic dignity and purpose imbued by a Divine Designer.
- The progression from acknowledging divine creation to requesting understanding for obedience is a critical pattern in biblical theology. It implies that true learning about God's will is always rooted in recognizing who He is as our Maker. It is a humble admission of human dependence on divine revelation for living purposefully.
- This verse can be understood as a lifelong prayer for every believer. As God's "workmanship" (Eph 2:10), we constantly need renewed spiritual insight to walk according to the "good works" for which we were "created in Christ Jesus."
- The Psalmist implicitly argues that the one who designs a machine is best equipped to provide its manual. So too, the Creator of humanity is the ultimate authority on how humans are to function ethically and spiritually.
Psalm 119 73 Commentary
Psalm 119:73 encapsulates a profound theological premise: that the Creator is the only ultimate source of understanding for His creation. The psalmist begins by affirming God's foundational work, acknowledging that his very being, down to his intricate personal design, is solely the product of God's "hands." This isn't just a generic statement about creation but a deeply personal one, emphasizing God's intimate and purposeful craftsmanship. This recognition builds an irrefutable premise: since God painstakingly "made and fashioned" him, He alone possesses the perfect insight into His creation's purpose and optimal functioning.
From this solid ground, the psalmist pivots to an earnest prayer for "understanding." This isn't a request for intellectual capacity alone, but for spiritual discernment—a God-given ability to perceive, interpret, and internalize His divine will as revealed in His "commandments." The subsequent clause, "that I may learn your commandments," clarifies the purpose of this desired understanding: it's not for abstract knowledge but for active, practical application. It highlights the believer's active pursuit of God's truth, empowered by divine enabling. The verse thus unites our origin (creation by God) with our ultimate purpose (obedience to God), demonstrating that authentic human flourishing comes through discerning and living according to the divine blueprint. It models a prayer for spiritual enablement that sees our physical being and spiritual journey inextricably linked under the sovereignty of our wise Creator.