Passage

Psalms 119.90

Book: Psalms · ASV

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"88. Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; So shall I observe the testimony of thy mouth. 89. LAMEDH. For ever, O Jehovah, Thy word is settled in heaven."

"90. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: Thou hast established the earth, and it abideth."

"91. They abide this day according to thine ordinances; For all things are thy servants. 92. Unless thy law had been my delight, I should then have perished in mine affliction." (Psalms 119:88-92, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"88. Preserve my life according to your loving kindness, so I will obey the statutes of your mouth. LAMED 89. Yahweh, your word is settled in heaven forever."

"90. Your faithfulness is to all generations. You have established the earth, and it remains."

"91. Your laws remain to this day, for all things serve you. 92. Unless your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction." (Psalms 119:88-92, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"88. Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth. 89. LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven."

"90. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. ^{unto: Heb. to generation and generation} ^{abideth: Heb. standeth}"

"91. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants. 92. Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction." (Psalms 119:88-92, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"88. According to Thy kindness quicken Thou me, And I keep the testimony of Thy mouth! 89. [Lamed.] To the age, O Jehovah, Thy word is set up in the heavens."

"90. To all generations Thy faithfulness, Thou didst establish earth, and it standeth."

"91. According to Thine ordinances They have stood this day, for the whole [are] Thy servants. 92. Unless Thy law [were] my delights, Then had I perished in mine affliction." (Psalms 119:88-92, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: anonymous post-exilic psalmist (acrostic composition on Torah-piety)
Audience: Israel in covenantal worship; reader as Torah-meditator
Location: post-exilic Judah, likely Second Temple liturgical milieu
Time period: post-exilic (c. 5th-4th c. BC)

Theological reading

Psalm 119:90 occurs in the LAMEDH stanza (vv. 89-96), which celebrates the cosmic durability of YHWH's word. The verse pairs God's [[H0530 - emunah|emunah]] with the establishment of the earth, drawing a structural parallel: just as the created order abides by divine ordinance, so the emunah of God abides unto all generations. The verse anchors a creation-faithfulness link, the same God who established the earth establishes His covenant faithfulness with His people. The pastoral logic: the believer's confidence in God's reliability is as durable as the stable created order He has made and sustains. The verse is one of the Psalter's most-quoted emunah texts in the liturgical tradition.

Key words

H0530 - emunah, emunah
H1697 - dabar, dabar, God's word (v. 89)

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.