1 Chronicles 29:17

29:17 I know, my God, that you examine thoughts ¹  and are pleased with integrity. With pure motives ²  I contribute all this; and now I look with joy as your people who have gathered here contribute to you.

Psalms 15:2

15:2 Whoever lives a blameless life, ³ 

does what is right,

and speaks honestly. ⁴ 

Psalms 101:1-4

Psalm 101 ⁵ 

A psalm of David.

101:1 I will sing about loyalty and justice!

To you, O Lord, I will sing praises!

101:2 I will walk in ⁶  the way of integrity.

When will you come to me?

I will conduct my business with integrity in the midst of my palace. ⁷ 

101:3 I will not even consider doing what is dishonest. ⁸ 

I hate doing evil; ⁹ 

I will have no part of it. ¹⁰ 

101:4 I will have nothing to do with a perverse person; ¹¹ 

I will not permit ¹²  evil.

Psalms 119:1

Psalm 119 ¹³ 

א (Alef)

119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, ¹⁴ 

who obey ¹⁵  the law of the Lord.

Proverbs 12:2

12:2 A good person obtains favor from the Lord,

but the Lord ¹⁶  condemns a person with wicked schemes. ¹⁷ 

Proverbs 12:22

12:22 The Lord ¹⁸  abhors a person who lies, ¹⁹ 

but those who deal truthfully ²⁰  are his delight. ²¹ 

[29:17]  ¹ tn Heb “a heart.”

[29:17]  ² tn Heb “with integrity of heart.”

[15:2]  ³ tn Heb “one who walks blamelessly.”

[15:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “one who speaks truth in his heart”; or “one who speaks truth [that is] in his heart.” This apparently refers to formulating a truthful statement in one’s mind and then honestly revealing that statement in one’s speech.

[101:1]  ⁵ sn Psalm 101. The psalmist, who appears to be a king, promises to promote justice in his land and vows to rid his royal court of evildoers.

[101:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “take notice of.”

[101:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “I will walk about in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.”

[101:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will not set before my eyes a thing of worthlessness.”

[101:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the doing of swerving [deeds] I hate.” The Hebrew term סֵטִים (setim) is probably an alternate spelling of שֵׂטִים (setim), which appears in many medieval Hebrew mss. The form appears to be derived from a verbal root שׂוּט (sut, “to fall away; to swerve”; see Ps 40:4).

[101:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “it [i.e., the doing of evil deeds] does not cling to me.”

[101:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a perverse heart will turn aside from me.” The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (’iqqesh) has the basic nuance “twisted; crooked” and by extension refers to someone or something that is morally perverse (see Ps 18:26). It appears frequently in the Book of Proverbs, where it is used of evil people (22:5), speech (8:8; 19:1), thoughts (11:20; 17:20), and life styles (2:15; 28:6).

[101:4]  ¹² tn Heb “know.” The king will not willingly allow perverse individuals to remain in his royal court.

[119:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 119. The psalmist celebrates God’s law and the guidance it provides his people. He expresses his desire to know God’s law thoroughly so that he might experience the blessings that come to those who obey it. This lengthy psalm exhibits an elaborate acrostic pattern. The psalm is divided into twenty-two sections (corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet), each of which is comprised of eight verses. Each of the verses in the first section (vv. 1-8) begins with the letter alef (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This pattern continues throughout the psalm as each new section highlights a successive letter of the alphabet. Each verse in section two (vv. 9-16) begins with the second letter of the alphabet, each verse in section three (vv. 17-24) with the third letter, etc. This rigid pattern creates a sense of order and completeness and may have facilitated memorization.

[119:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”

[119:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “walk in.”

[12:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “but he condemns”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a man of wicked plans.” The noun מְזִמּוֹת (mÿzimmot, “evil plans”) functions as an attributive genitive: “an evil-scheming man.” Cf. NASB “a man who devises evil”; NAB “the schemer.”

[12:22]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) is a subjective genitive.

[12:22]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “lips of lying.” The genitive שָׁקֶר (shaqer, “lying”) functions as an attributive genitive: “lying lips.” The term “lips” functions as a synecdoche of part (= lips) for the whole (= person): “a liar.”

[12:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “but doers of truthfulness.” The term “truthfulness” is an objective genitive, meaning: “those who practice truth” or “those who act in good faith.” Their words and works are reliable.

[12:22]  ²⁰ sn The contrast between “delight/pleasure” and “abomination” is emphatic. What pleases the Lord is acting truthfully or faithfully.