Psalms 40:8

40:8 I want to do what pleases you, ¹  my God.

Your law dominates my thoughts.” ² 

Psalms 119:14

119:14 I rejoice in the lifestyle prescribed by your rules ³ 

as if ⁴  they were riches of all kinds. ⁵ 

Psalms 119:24

119:24 Yes, I find delight in your rules;

they give me guidance. ⁶ 

Psalms 119:54

119:54 Your statutes have been my songs ⁷ 

in the house where I live. ⁸ 

Psalms 119:92

119:92 If I had not found encouragement in your law, ⁹ 

I would have died in my sorrow. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 119:121

ע (Ayin)

119:121 I do what is fair and right. ¹¹ 

Do not abandon me to my oppressors!

Psalms 119:143

119:143 Distress and hardship confront ¹²  me,

yet I find delight in your commands.

Deuteronomy 12:11-12

12:11 Then you must come to the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to reside, bringing ¹³  everything I am commanding you – your burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, the personal offerings you have prepared, ¹⁴  and all your choice votive offerings which you devote to him. ¹⁵  12:12 You shall rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God, along with your sons, daughters, male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages ¹⁶  (since they have no allotment or inheritance with you). ¹⁷ 

Deuteronomy 16:11

16:11 You shall rejoice before him ¹⁸  – you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages, ¹⁹  the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows among you – in the place where the Lord chooses to locate his name.

Deuteronomy 16:14

16:14 You are to rejoice in your festival, you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows who are in your villages. ²⁰ 

Nehemiah 8:12

8:12 So all the people departed to eat and drink and to share their food ²¹  with others ²²  and to enjoy tremendous joy, ²³  for they had gained insight in the matters that had been made known to them.

Isaiah 64:5

64:5 You assist ²⁴  those who delight in doing what is right, ²⁵ 

who observe your commandments. ²⁶ 

Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.

How then can we be saved? ²⁷ 

Jeremiah 15:16

15:16 As your words came to me I drank them in, ²⁸ 

and they filled my heart with joy and happiness

because I belong to you. ²⁹ 

Romans 7:22

7:22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being.

[40:8]  ¹ tn Or “your will.”

[40:8]  ² tn Heb “your law [is] in the midst of my inner parts.” The “inner parts” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s thought life and moral decision making.

[119:14]  ³ tn Heb “in the way of your rules.”

[119:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “as upon,” meaning “as if” (see 2 Chr 32:19).

[119:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “all wealth.” The phrase refers to all kinds of wealth and riches. See Prov 1:13; 6:31; 24:4; Ezek 27:12, 18.

[119:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “men of my counsel.” That is, God’s rules are like advisers to the psalmist, for they teach him how to live in a godly manner that refutes the accusations of his enemies.

[119:54]  ⁷ tn Heb “songs were your statutes to me.”

[119:54]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the house of my dwelling place.” Some take the Hebrew noun מָגוֹר (magor) in the sense of “temporary abode,” and see this as a reference to the psalmist’s status as a resident alien (see v. 19). But the noun can refer to a dwelling place in general (see Ps 55:15).

[119:92]  ⁹ tn Heb “if your law had not been my delight.”

[119:92]  ¹⁰ tn Or “my suffering.”

[119:121]  ¹¹ tn Heb “do justice and righteousness.”

[119:143]  ¹² tn Heb “find.”

[12:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “and it will be (to) the place where the Lord your God chooses to cause his name to dwell you will bring.”

[12:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “heave offerings of your hand.”

[12:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

[12:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “within your gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “who belongs to your community.”

[12:12]  ¹⁷ sn They have no allotment or inheritance with you. See note on the word “inheritance” in Deut 10:9.

[16:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[16:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “gates.”

[16:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “in your gates.”

[8:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “to send portions.”

[8:12]  ²² tn The Hebrew text does not include the phrase “with others” but it has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:12]  ²³ tn Heb “to make great joy.”

[64:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “meet [with kindness].”

[64:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the one who rejoices and does righteousness.”

[64:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “in your ways they remember you.”

[64:5]  ²⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “look, you were angry and we sinned against them continually [or perhaps, “in ancient times”] and we were delivered.” The statement makes little sense as it stands. The first vav [ו] consecutive (“and we sinned”) must introduce an explanatory clause here (see Num 1:48 and Isa 39:1 for other examples of this relatively rare use of the vav [ו] consecutive). The final verb (if rendered positively) makes no sense in this context – God’s anger at their sin resulted in judgment, not deliverance. One of the alternatives involves an emendation to וַנִּרְשָׁע (vannirsha’, “and we were evil”; LXX, NRSV, TEV). The Vulgate and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a support the MT reading. One can either accept an emendation or cast the statement as a question (as above).

[15:16]  ²⁸ sn Heb “Your words were found and I ate them.” This along with Ezek 2:8–3:3 is a poetic picture of inspiration. The prophet accepted them, assimilated them, and made them such a part of himself that he spoke with complete assurance what he knew were God’s words.

[15:16]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Your name is called upon me.”