I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad. Mem
English Standard Version (ESV)
The psalmists reveals that while every human endeavor and earthly glory has a definite endpoint, God's Word is vast and immeasurable, reaching beyond our limited understanding and encompassing eternal truth. This sharp contrast highlights the infinite value and scope of divine instruction compared to the fleeting nature of all things created or devised by humankind.
I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad. Mem
English Standard Version (ESV)
The psalmist is reflecting on the limitations of everything earthly – human wisdom, achievements, and even the created world itself – finding that all have an endpoint. In contrast, he exalts the boundless nature of God's commandments, which are deep, wide, and eternally relevant, offering a perfection that transient earthly things cannot match.
Ever felt like you've reached the peak, only to find there's more mountain ahead? The psalmist understood this feeling, but applied it to everything.
The verse starts with a bold declaration: 'I have seen an end of all perfection.' This isn't just about things breaking down; it's about recognizing that every accomplishment, every human system, every worldly 'ideal' has its limits.
No Ultimate Human Achievement
Think about the greatest human inventions, the most brilliant philosophies, the strongest empires. They all reach a point where they fall short, become outdated, or simply cease to exist. Even the most 'perfect' aspects of creation eventually yield to time and change.
The Psalmist's Experience
The psalmist, looking around, saw this truth repeatedly. Whether it was human strength, wisdom, or even kingdoms, he observed their finite nature. He understood that 'perfection' as the world defines it, is always temporary.
If everything else has a limit, what can we lean on that doesn't? The psalmist points to God's Word as the ultimate, immeasurable standard.
In sharp contrast to the limited nature of earthly 'perfection,' the psalmist declares God's commandment to be 'exceedingly broad.' This isn't just 'long'; it's vast in every conceivable way.
Beyond Human Comprehension
God's Word, His law, His instructions – they are not confined by time, space, or human understanding. They possess a depth and a breadth that we can explore forever without exhausting them.
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A Guide for All of Life
This 'broadness' means the commandment is sufficient for every situation, every person, and every era. It informs us about God, about ourselves, about salvation, and about how to live. It's a complete and all-encompassing guide that never runs out or fails.
Understand the original words
killâh · Hebrew Noun
In this context, it refers to the entirety of human achievement, finite accomplishments, or earthly excellence. It denotes the boundary or end-point of what is created or fallible.
tiklâh · Hebrew Noun
The state of being complete or faultless. In Scripture, it often points to moral integrity or the fullness of something, though here it signifies the inherent boundaries of worldly or human attainment.
mitsvâh · Hebrew Noun
Divine injunctions, rules, or statutes given by God for His people. It represents the binding authority and revealed will of God that guides human life.
This passage speaks to the 'exceeding broadness' of God's will by contrasting it with the limited, conforming nature of the world, urging believers to be transformed by a renewal of their minds.
Colossians 1:9Paul's prayer for believers to be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding mirrors the psalmist's discovery of the vastness and depth of God's commandment.
1 Corinthians 1:20This verse highlights the 'end' or limit of human wisdom and worldly perfection, directly paralleling the psalmist's observation that all human endeavors have boundaries, unlike God's law.
Matthew 5:17-18Jesus' declaration that he did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it, and that not the smallest detail will pass away, speaks to the enduring and comprehensive perfection of God's commandments, which the psalmist observes as 'exceedingly broad.'
gillPsalms 119:96: "I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad."
I have seen an end of all perfection,.... An end, limit, or border, to every country, as the Syriac version; as there is to every kingdom and state, and to the whole world; but none to the commandment of God: or an end of all created beings, the finished works of God, the most perfect in their kind. Manythings had already fallen under the observation of the psalmist: he had seen men of the greatest st…
poolePsalms 119:96: "I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad."
I have seen an end of all perfection; I have observed by my experience that the greatest and most perfect accomplishments and enjoyments in this world, the greatest glory, and riches, and power, and wisdom, are too narrow and shortlived to make men happy. Thy commandment; thy word; one part of it being synecdochically put for the whole. Broad, or large , both for extent and for continuance; it is usef…
The psalmists reveals that while every human endeavor and earthly glory has a definite endpoint, God's Word is vast and immeasurable, reaching beyond our limited understanding and encompassing eternal truth. This sharp contrast highlights the infinite value and scope of divine instruction compared to the fleeting nature of all things created or devised by humankind.
The psalmist is reflecting on the limitations of everything earthly – human wisdom, achievements, and even the created world itself – finding that all have an endpoint. In contrast, he exalts the boundless nature of God's commandments, which are deep, wide, and eternally relevant, offering a perfection that transient earthly things cannot match.
The psalmist is reflecting on the limitations of everything earthly – human wisdom, achievements, and even the created world itself – finding that all have an endpoint. In contrast, he exalts the boundless nature of God's commandments, which are deep, wide, and eternally relevant, offering a perfection that transient earthly things cannot match.
"I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commandment is exceedingly broad.
Mem" — The psalmists reveals that while every human endeavor and earthly glory has a definite endpoint, God's Word is vast and immeasurable, reaching beyond our limited understanding and encompassing eterna…
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Last reviewed October 2026