Read
Psalm 119:150
They draw near who follow after wickedness. They are far from your law.
148My eyes stay open through the night watches, that I might meditate on your word.
149Hear my voice according to your loving kindness. Revive me, LORD, according to your ordinances.
150They draw near who follow after wickedness. They are far from your law.
151You are near, LORD. All your commandments are truth.
152Of old I have known from your testimonies, that you have founded them forever. RESH
Notice
Near and far describe two different distances: those pursuing wickedness are closing in on the speaker while remaining far from the law of God.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What changes when you read “draw near” alongside “far from your law”?
Write on thisWhere do you feel pressure to accept conduct that disregards God's law?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Psalm 27:2When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.Both describe evildoers approaching the speaker; Psalm 27 also tells of those enemies stumbling and falling.
Proverbs 28:9He who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.Both describe disregard for God's law; Proverbs adds that refusing to hear it makes even prayer an abomination.
Isaiah 46:12Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, who are far from righteousness!Both use distance to describe moral estrangement: far from God's law in the psalm, far from righteousness in Isaiah.
Jeremiah 44:23Because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the LORD’s voice, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, …Both describe people departing from God's law; Jeremiah names disobedience and the disaster that followed.
Job 21:14They tell God, ‘Depart from us, for we don’t want to know about your ways.Distance from God's law in the psalm shares a thread with the refusal to know God's ways in Job.
Psalm 50:17since you hate instruction, and throw my words behind you?Both describe disregard for God's instruction, expressed as distance from his law and throwing his words behind oneself.
Psalm 22:16For dogs have surrounded me. A company of evildoers have enclosed me. They have pierced my hands and feet.Both describe threatening evildoers close to the speaker; Psalm 22 depicts them surrounding him and piercing his hands and feet.
Psalm 22:11–13Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near. For there is no one to help.Both speak of approaching danger through the language of nearness; Psalm 22 adds a plea for God to stay close.
2 Samuel 17:16Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, ‘Don’t lodge tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king be swallowed …Both concern danger to a person's safety; Samuel records an urgent warning to move, while the psalm names approaching evildoers.
1 Samuel 23:16Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David into the woods, and strengthened his hand in God.The connection is limited: the psalm describes people far from God's law, while Jonathan strengthens David's hand in God.
Proverbs 1:22“How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? How long will mockers delight themselves in mockery, and fools hate knowledge?Both describe resistance to instruction: the psalm names distance from God's law, while Proverbs names hatred of knowledge.
Ephesians 2:13–14But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ.Both use near and far language; the psalm describes evildoers and God's law, while Ephesians describes nearness through Christ's blood.
Where this verse fits
Injustice and anger. fear for the future. temptation.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
The next line says, “You are near, LORD.” Those pursuing wickedness remain a threat in this prayer; their approach does not put God at a distance.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).