Psalms 119:150 Meaning and Explanation
“They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Danger has a way of filling the whole horizon. What this line does, in a single balanced sentence, is measure the threat by a second ruler. The men closing in are described by where they stand in relation to God's law, and that measurement changes how large they look. It is a habit of mind worth learning before we need it.
Those chasing a wicked plan are closing in on the psalmist. He notes the distance that matters most: however near they stand to him, they stand far from God's law.
The Context of Psalms 119:150
Verses 145 to 152 make up the nineteenth stanza of this acrostic, built on the Hebrew letter qoph. The stanza has been prayer up to this point. Here the poet turns to describe his situation, and the enemies appear directly for the first time in these eight lines. The psalm has mentioned such opponents before: princes speaking against him in verse 23, proud men digging pits in verse 85, and the wicked laying a snare in verse 110. Verse 151 answers this verse at once, and verse 152 closes the stanza by looking back to what God founded long ago.
What Does Psalms 119:150 Mean?
Two verbs of distance shape the line. The first is 'draw nigh', which the KJV also uses for approaching God in worship. Here it describes men closing the gap on a hunted man. The second is 'far', and it measures the same men against God's law. 'Follow after mischief' pictures pursuit; the word rendered mischief names a plan deliberately formed, and formed for harm. So these are people with a purpose, chasing it hard. The sentence sets their nearness and their distance side by side without further comment, and the effect is to expose what their pursuit has cost them.
The stanza is arranged so that this verse cannot be read alone. Verse 151 opens with the same Hebrew root for nearness that begins verse 150, so the poet's ear catches an echo the English cannot easily show: they are near, and You are near. Scripture regularly measures a life by its distance from God's instruction. Israel was warned that turning aside from the commandment leads into ruin, and the prophets described a people who honored God with their lips while their heart was removed far from Him. Distance from the law is treated as a real condition with real consequences, felt eventually by those who keep it.
Jesus met this exact pattern. Men drew near to Him with plans already formed, and one of them came close enough to give a kiss. Isaiah's words about a people near with their mouth while their heart is far away were applied by the Lord to those who opposed Him. The psalm's measurement held. Nearness in the street proved nothing about nearness to God. For anyone who has been surrounded by hostility, this is steadying. The people who press hardest against us are being measured too, and their proximity gives them no standing. Meanwhile the law they are far from remains the ground we can stand on.
Psalms 119:150 in the Original Language
zimmah (זִמָּה), 'mischief' -- a plan or scheme thought out in advance. Scripture uses it almost always for a purpose formed with harm in view, so the phrase describes people pursuing a settled intention rather than acting on impulse.
Bible Verses Related to Psalms 119:150
“Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.”
- Psalm 119:151
“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:”
- Isaiah 29:13
“The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law.”
- Psalm 119:85
“Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.”
- Psalm 22:11
Where Psalms 119:150 Echoes in Scripture
Isaiah 29:13 charges a people who draw near with their mouth and honour God with their lips while their heart is removed far from Him. The vocabulary of near and far is the same pair this verse uses, applied there to worshippers rather than to persecutors. Jesus quoted the line against those who pressed Him on tradition, recorded in Matthew 15:8. The measurement travels well: closeness in words or in physical space settles nothing about closeness of heart.
How to Apply Psalms 119:150 Today
When someone is actively working against us, our attention narrows to them. This verse supplies a second question to set alongside the first. Beyond what they are doing to me lies the question of where all of it sits in relation to what God has said. That question restores proportion while leaving the danger honestly named. It also turns back on us. A plan we are quietly nursing, a grudge we keep rehearsing, an advantage we are chasing at someone else's cost, each can be held up against God's law before it hardens into pursuit. The measurement is available to anyone willing to take it.
Reflection & Prayer
Is there a plan of my own that would look bad if I measured it against God's law today? A prayer when opposition feels close: LORD, people who mean harm are near, and I feel every step. Keep me from answering them in kind. Search my own plans first, and take out of me anything I would be ashamed to hold beside Your word. Then let me stand where Your law stands.