Psalms 10:5

10:5 He is secure at all times. ¹ 

He has no regard for your commands; ² 

he disdains all his enemies. ³ 

Psalms 36:6

36:6 Your justice is like the highest mountains, ⁴ 

your fairness like the deepest sea;

you preserve ⁵  mankind and the animal kingdom. ⁶ 

Psalms 72:1-2

Psalm 72 ⁷ 

For ⁸  Solomon.

72:1 O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions! ⁹ 

Grant the king’s son ¹⁰  the ability to make fair decisions! ¹¹ 

72:2 Then he will judge ¹²  your people fairly,

and your oppressed ones ¹³  equitably.

Psalms 119:7

119:7 I will give you sincere thanks, ¹⁴ 

when I learn your just regulations.

Psalms 119:39

119:39 Take away the insults that I dread! ¹⁵ 

Indeed, ¹⁶  your regulations are good.

Psalms 119:62

119:62 In the middle of the night I arise ¹⁷  to thank you

for your just regulations.

Psalms 119:75

119:75 I know, Lord, that your regulations ¹⁸  are just.

You disciplined me because of your faithful devotion to me. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 119:106

119:106 I have vowed and solemnly sworn

to keep your just regulations.

Psalms 119:137-138

צ (Tsade)

119:137 You are just, O Lord,

and your judgments are fair.

119:138 The rules you impose are just, ²⁰ 

and absolutely reliable.

Psalms 119:142

119:142 Your justice endures, ²¹ 

and your law is reliable. ²² 

Psalms 119:1

Psalm 119 ²³ 

א (Alef)

119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, ²⁴ 

who obey ²⁵  the law of the Lord.

Psalms 147:19

147:19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,

his statutes and regulations to Israel.

Exodus 21:1

The Decisions

21:1 ²⁶ “These are the decisions that you will set before them:

Deuteronomy 4:8

4:8 And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just ²⁷  as this whole law ²⁸  that I am about to share with ²⁹  you today?

Isaiah 26:8

26:8 Yes, as your judgments unfold, ³⁰ 

O Lord, we wait for you.

We desire your fame and reputation to grow. ³¹ 

Romans 2:2

2:2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth ³²  against those who practice such things.

Romans 11:22

11:22 Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God – harshness toward those who have fallen, but ³³  God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; ³⁴  otherwise you also will be cut off.

Revelation 15:3

15:3 They ³⁵  sang the song of Moses the servant ³⁶  of God and the song of the Lamb: ³⁷ 

“Great and astounding are your deeds,

Lord God, the All-Powerful! ³⁸ 

Just ³⁹  and true are your ways,

King over the nations! ⁴⁰ 

Revelation 16:7

16:7 Then ⁴¹  I heard the altar reply, ⁴²  “Yes, Lord God, the All-Powerful, ⁴³  your judgments are true and just!”

Revelation 19:2

19:2 because his judgments are true and just. ⁴⁴ 

For he has judged ⁴⁵  the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,

and has avenged the blood of his servants ⁴⁶  poured out by her own hands!” ⁴⁷ 

[10:5]  ¹ tn Heb “they are firm, his ways, at every time.” The verb חַיִל (khayil, “be firm, be strong”) occurs only here and in Job 20:21, where it has the sense “endure.”

[10:5]  ² tc Heb “[on a] height, your judgments from before him.” If the MT is retained, then the idea may be that God’s “judgments” are high above (i.e., not recognized) by the wicked man. However, the syntax is awkward. The translation assumes an emendation of מָרוֹם (marom, “height”) to סָרוּ (saru, “[your judgments] are turned aside”), the final mem (ם) being dittographic (note the initial mem on the immediately following word [מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ, mishÿfatekha, “your judgments”). “Judgments” probably refers here to God’s laws or commands, rather than his judicial decisions or acts of judgment.

[10:5]  ³ tn Heb “all his enemies, he snorts against them.” This may picture the wicked man defiantly challenging his enemies because he is confident of success. Another option is to take יָפִיחַ (yafiakh) from the root יָפַח (yafakh, “to testify”) and translate “he testifies against all his enemies,” implying that he gets the upper hand over them in legal battles. The noun יָפֵחַ (yafeakh, “witness”) is attested in biblical Hebrew (see Prov 6:19; 12:17; 14:5, 25; 19:5, 9, and Hab 2:3). The verb, however, is not clearly attested.

[36:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “mountains of God.” The divine name אֵל (’el, “God”) is here used in an idiomatic manner to indicate the superlative.

[36:6]  ⁵ tn Or “deliver.”

[36:6]  ⁶ sn God’s justice/fairness is firm and reliable like the highest mountains and as abundant as the water in the deepest sea. The psalmist uses a legal metaphor to describe God’s preservation of his creation. Like a just judge who vindicates the innocent, God protects his creation from destructive forces.

[72:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 72. This royal psalm contains a prayer for the Davidic king (note the imperatival form in v. 1 and the jussive forms in vv. 16-17). It is not entirely clear if vv. 2-15 express a prayer or anticipate a future reign. The translation assumes a blend of petition and vision: (I) opening prayer (v. 1), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 2-7); (II) prayer (v. 8), followed by anticipated results if prayer is answered (vv. 9-14); (III) closing prayer (vv. 15-17). Whether a prayer, vision, or combination of the two, the psalm depicts the king’s universal rule of peace and prosperity. As such it is indirectly messianic, for the ideal it expresses will only be fully realized during the Messiah’s earthly reign. Verses 18-19 are a conclusion for Book 2 of the Psalter (Pss 42-72; cf. Ps 41:13, which contains a similar conclusion for Book 1), while v. 20 appears to be a remnant of an earlier collection of psalms or an earlier edition of the Psalter.

[72:1]  ⁸ tn The preposition could be understood as indicating authorship (“Of Solomon”), but since the psalm is a prayer for a king, it may be that the superscription reflects a tradition that understood this as a prayer for Solomon.

[72:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “O God, your judgments to [the] king give.”

[72:1]  ¹⁰ sn Grant the king…Grant the king’s son. It is not entirely clear whether v. 1 envisions one individual or two. The phrase “the king’s son” in the second line may simply refer to “the king” of the first line, drawing attention to the fact that he has inherited his dynastic rule. Another option is that v. 1 envisions a co-regency between father and son (a common phenomenon in ancient Israel) or simply expresses a hope for a dynasty that champions justice.

[72:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and your justice to [the] son of [the] king.”

[72:2]  ¹² tn The prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, not a jussive.

[72:2]  ¹³ sn These people are called God’s oppressed ones because he is their defender (see Pss 9:12, 18; 10:12; 12:5).

[119:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I will give you thanks with an upright heart.”

[119:39]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “my reproach that I fear.”

[119:39]  ¹⁶ tn Or “for.”

[119:62]  ¹⁷ tn The psalmist uses an imperfect verbal form to emphasize that this is his continuing practice.

[119:75]  ¹⁸ tn In this context (note the second line) the Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim), which so often refers to the regulations of God’s law elsewhere in this psalm, may refer instead to his decisions or disciplinary judgment.

[119:75]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and [in] faithfulness you afflicted me.”

[119:138]  ²⁰ tn Heb “you commanded [in] justice your rules.”

[119:142]  ²¹ tn Heb “your justice [is] justice forever.”

[119:142]  ²² tn Or “truth.”

[119:1]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”

[119:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “walk in.”

[21:1]  ²⁶ sn There follows now a series of rulings called “the decisions” or “the judgments” (הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים, hammishpatim). A precept is stated, and then various cases in which the law is applicable are examined. These rulings are all in harmony with the Decalogue that has just been given and can be grouped into three categories: civil or criminal laws, religious or cultic laws, and moral or humanitarian laws. The civil and criminal laws make up most of chap. 21; the next two chapters mix the other kinds of laws. Among the many studies of this section of the book are F. C. Fensham, “The Role of the Lord in the Legal Sections of the Covenant Code,” VT 26 (1976): 262-74; S. Paul, “Unrecognized Biblical Legal Idioms in Light of Comparative Akkadian Expressions,” RB 86 (1979): 231-39; M. Galston, “The Purpose of the Law According to Maimonides,” JQR 69 (1978): 27-51.

[4:8]  ²⁷ tn Or “pure”; or “fair”; Heb “righteous.”

[4:8]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew phrase הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת (hattorah hazzo’t), in this context, refers specifically to the Book of Deuteronomy. That is, it is the collection of all the חֻקִּים (khuqqim, “statutes,” 4:1) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim, “ordinances,” 4:1) to be included in the covenant text. In a full canonical sense, of course, it pertains to the entire Pentateuch or Torah.

[4:8]  ²⁹ tn Heb “place before.”

[26:8]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew text has, “yes, the way of your judgments.” The translation assumes that “way” is related to the verb “we wait” as an adverbial accusative (“in the way of your judgments we wait”). מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ (mishpatekha, “your judgments”) could refer to the Lord’s commandments, in which case one might translate, “as we obey your commands.” However, in verse 9 the same form refers to divine acts of judgment on evildoers.

[26:8]  ³¹ tn Heb “your name and your remembrance [is] the desire of [our?] being.”

[2:2]  ³² tn Or “based on truth.”

[11:22]  ³³ tn Greek emphasizes the contrast between these two clauses more than can be easily expressed in English.

[11:22]  ³⁴ tn Grk “if you continue in (the) kindness.”

[15:3]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[15:3]  ³⁶ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[15:3]  ³⁷ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:3]  ³⁸ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

[15:3]  ³⁹ tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

[15:3]  ⁴⁰ tc Certain mss (Ì⁴⁷ א*^,2 C 1006 1611 1841 pc) read “ages” (αἰώνων, aiwnwn) instead of “nations” (ἐθνῶν, eqnwn), which itself is supported by several mss (א¹ A 051 Ï). The ms evidence seems to be fairly balanced, though αἰώνων has somewhat better support. The replacement of “ages” with “nations” is possibly a scribal attempt to harmonize this verse with the use of “nations” in the following verse. On the other hand, the idea of “nations” fits well with v. 4 and it may be that “ages” is a scribal attempt to assimilate this text to 1 Tim 1:17: “the king of the ages” (βασιλεὺς τῶν αἰώνων, basileu" twn aiwnwn). The decision is a difficult one since both scenarios deal well with the evidence, though the verbal parallel with 1 Tim 1:17 is exact while the parallel with v. 4 is not. The term “king” occurs 17 other times (most occurrences refer to earthly kings) in Revelation and it is not used with either “ages” or “nations” apart from this verse. Probably the reading “nations” should be considered original due to the influence of 1 Tim 1:17.

[16:7]  ⁴¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[16:7]  ⁴² tn Grk “the altar saying.”

[16:7]  ⁴³ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

[19:2]  ⁴⁴ tn Compare the similar phrase in Rev 16:7.

[19:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “has punished.” See BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α, describing the OT background which involves both the vindication of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty.

[19:2]  ⁴⁶ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “from her hand” (referring to her responsibility in causing the blood of God’s followers to be shed).