22:3 Is it of any special benefit 1 to the Almighty
that you should be righteous,
or is it any gain to him
that you make your ways blameless? 2
101:2 I will walk in 3 the way of integrity.
When will you come to me?
I will conduct my business with integrity in the midst of my palace. 4
101:6 I will favor the honest people of the land, 5
and allow them to live with me. 6
Those who walk in the way of integrity will attend me. 7
א (Alef)
119:1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, 9
who obey 10 the law of the Lord.
1 tn The word חֵפֶץ (khefets) in this passage has the nuance of “special benefit; favor.” It does not just express the desire for something or the interest in it, but the profit one derives from it.
2 tn The verb תַתֵּם (tattem) is the Hiphil imperfect of תָּמַם (tamam, “be complete, finished”), following the Aramaic form of the geminate verb with a doubling of the first letter.
3 tn Heb “take notice of.”
4 tn Heb “I will walk about in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.”
5 tn Heb “my eyes [are] on the faithful of the land.”
6 tn The Hebrew text simply reads, “in order to live with me.”
7 tn Heb “one who walks in the way of integrity, he will minister to me.”
8 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.
9 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness of those who are blameless of way.”
10 tn Heb “walk in.”