1 Samuel 23:21

23:21 Saul replied, “May you be blessed by the Lord, for you have had compassion on me.

1 Samuel 26:25

26:25 Saul replied to David, “May you be rewarded, 1  my son David! You will without question be successful!” 2  So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

Jude 1:2

1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! 3 

Psalms 18:20

18:20 The Lord repaid 4  me for my godly deeds; 5 

he rewarded 6  my blameless behavior. 7 

Proverbs 25:21-22

25:21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

25:22 for you will heap coals of fire on his head, 8 

and the Lord will reward you. 9 

1 tn Heb “blessed.”

2 tn Heb “you will certainly do and also you will certainly be able.” The infinitive absolutes placed before the finite verbal forms lend emphasis to the statement.

3 tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”

4 tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.

5 tn Heb “according to my righteousness.” As vv. 22-24 make clear, the psalmist refers here to his unwavering obedience to God’s commands. In these verses the psalmist explains that the Lord was pleased with him and willing to deliver him because he had been loyal to God and obedient to his commandments. Ancient Near Eastern literature contains numerous parallels. A superior (a god or king) would typically reward a subject (a king or the servant of a king, respectively) for loyalty and obedience. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 211-13.

6 tn The unreduced Hiphil prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, in which case the psalmist would be generalizing. However, both the preceding and following contexts (see especially v. 24) suggest he is narrating his experience. Despite its unreduced form, the verb is better taken as a preterite. For other examples of unreduced Hiphil preterites, see Pss 55:14a; 68:9a, 10b; 80:8a; 89:43a; 107:38b; 116:6b.

7 tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands he repaid to me.” “Hands” suggest activity and behavior.

8 sn The imagery of the “burning coals” represents pangs of conscience, more readily effected by kindness than by violence. These coals produce the sharp pain of contrition through regret (e.g., 18:19; 20:22; 24:17; Gen 42-45; 1 Sam 24:18-20; Rom 12:20). The coals then would be an implied comparison with a searing conscience.

9 sn The second consequence of treating enemies with kindness is that the Lord will reward the act. The fact that this is promised shows that the instruction here belongs to the religious traditions of Israel.