25:10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable 3
to those who follow the demands of his covenant. 4
57:3 May he send help from heaven and deliver me 5
from my enemies who hurl insults! 6 (Selah)
May God send his loyal love and faithfulness!
61:7 May he reign 7 forever before God!
Decree that your loyal love and faithfulness should protect him. 8
85:10 Loyal love and faithfulness meet; 9
deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss. 10
89:14 Equity and justice are the foundation of your throne. 11
Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule. 12
14:22 Do not those who devise 13 evil go astray?
But those who plan good exhibit 14 faithful covenant love. 15
1 tn Or “loyalty and devotion.”
2 tn Heb “will do with you this good.”
3 tn Heb “all the paths of the
4 tn Heb “to the ones who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”
5 tn Heb “may he send from heaven and deliver me.” The prefixed verbal forms are understood as jussives expressing the psalmist’s prayer. The second verb, which has a vav (ו) conjunctive prefixed to it, probably indicates purpose. Another option is to take the forms as imperfects expressing confidence, “he will send from heaven and deliver me” (cf. NRSV).
6 tn Heb “he hurls insults, one who crushes me.” The translation assumes that this line identifies those from whom the psalmist seeks deliverance. (The singular is representative; the psalmist is surrounded by enemies, see v. 4.) Another option is to understand God as the subject of the verb חָרַף (kharaf), which could then be taken as a homonym of the more common root חָרַף (“insult”) meaning “confuse.” In this case “one who crushes me” is the object of the verb. One might translate, “he [God] confuses my enemies.”
7 tn Heb “sit [enthroned].” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive here, expressing the psalmist’s prayer.
8 tn Heb “loyal love and faithfulness appoint, let them protect him.”
9 tn The psalmist probably uses the perfect verbal forms in v. 10 in a dramatic or rhetorical manner, describing what he anticipates as if it were already occurring or had already occurred.
10 sn Deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss. The psalmist personifies these abstract qualities to emphasize that God’s loyal love and faithfulness will yield deliverance and peace for his people.
11 sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.
12 tn Heb “are in front of your face.” The idiom can mean “confront” (Ps 17:13) or “meet, enter the presence of” (Ps 95:2).
13 sn The verb חָרַשׁ (kharash) means (1) literally: “to cut in; to engrave; to plow,” describing the work of a craftsman; and (2) figuratively: “to devise,” describing the mental activity of planning evil (what will harm people) in the first colon, and planning good (what will benefit them) in the second colon.
14 tn The term “exhibit” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
15 tn Heb “loyal-love and truth.” The two terms חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת (khesed ve’emet) often form a hendiadys: “faithful love” or better “faithful covenant love.”
16 tn “But” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the implied contrast between the Mosaic law and grace through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 seems to indicate clearly that the Old Covenant (Sinai) was being contrasted with the New. In Jewish sources the Law was regarded as a gift from God (Josephus, Ant. 3.8.10 [3.223]; Pirqe Avot 1.1; Sifre Deut 31:4 §305). Further information can be found in T. F. Glasson, Moses in the Fourth Gospel (SBT).
17 tn Grk “He”; the referent (the Word) has been specified in the translation for clarity.