1 Peter 1:23

1:23 You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God.

Psalms 102:12

102:12 But you, O Lord, rule forever, ¹ 

and your reputation endures. ² 

Psalms 102:26

102:26 They will perish,

but you will endure. ³ 

They will wear out like a garment;

like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear. ⁴ 

Psalms 119:89

ל (Lamed)

119:89 O Lord, your instructions endure;

they stand secure in heaven. ⁵ 

Isaiah 40:8

40:8 The grass dries up,

the flowers wither,

but the decree of our God is forever reliable.” ⁶ 

Matthew 5:18

5:18 I ⁷  tell you the truth, ⁸  until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter ⁹  will pass from the law until everything takes place.

Luke 16:17

16:17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter ¹⁰  in the law to become void. ¹¹ 

¹ tn Heb “sit” (i.e., sit enthroned, see Ps 9:7). The imperfect verbal form highlights the generalization.

² tn Heb “and your remembrance [is] for a generation and a generation.”

³ tn Heb “stand.”

⁴ tn The Hebrew verb חָלַף (khalaf) occurs twice in this line, once in the Hiphil (“you will remove them”) and once in the Qal (“they will disappear”). The repetition draws attention to the statement.

⁵ tn Heb “Forever, O Lord, your word stands firm in heaven,” or “Forever, O Lord, [is] your word; it stands firm in heaven.” The translation assumes that “your word” refers here to the body of divine instructions contained in the law (note the frequent references to the law in vv. 92-96). See vv. 9, 16-17, 57, 101, 105, 130, 139 and 160-61. The reference in v. 86 to God’s law being faithful favors this interpretation. Another option is that “your word” refers to God’s assuring word of promise, mentioned in vv. 25, 28, 42, 65, 74, 81, 107, 114, 147 and 169. In this case one might translate, “O Lord, your promise is reliable, it stands firm in heaven.”

⁶ tn Heb “but the word of our God stands forever.” In this context the divine “word” specifically refers to his decreed promise assuring Jerusalem that her suffering is over and his glorious return imminent (vv. 1-5).

⁷ tn Grk “For I tell.” Here an explanatory γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

⁹ tn Grk “Not one iota or one serif.”

¹⁰ tn Or “one small part of a letter” (L&N 33.37).

¹¹ tn Grk “to fall”; that is, “to drop out of the text.” Jesus’ point may be that the law is going to reach its goal without fail, in that the era of the promised kingdom comes.