16:11 You lead me in 1 the path of life; 2
I experience absolute joy in your presence; 3
you always give me sheer delight. 4
21:4 He asked you to sustain his life, 5
and you have granted him long life and an enduring dynasty. 6
36:9 For you are the one who gives
and sustains life. 7
133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon, 8
which flows down upon the hills of Zion. 9
Indeed 10 that is where the Lord has decreed
a blessing will be available – eternal life. 11
12:2 Many of those who sleep
in the dusty ground will awake –
some to everlasting life,
and others to shame and everlasting abhorrence. 12
19:16 Now 13 someone came up to him and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to gain eternal life?” 19:17 He said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 19:18 “Which ones?” he asked. Jesus replied, “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19:19 honor your father and mother, 14 and love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 19:20 The young man said to him, “I have wholeheartedly obeyed 16 all these laws. 17 What do I still lack?”
10:25 Now 18 an expert in religious law 19 stood up to test Jesus, 20 saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 21 10:26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?” 22 10:27 The expert 23 answered, “Love 24 the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, 25 and love your neighbor as yourself.” 26 10:28 Jesus 27 said to him, “You have answered correctly; 28 do this, and you will live.”
10:29 But the expert, 29 wanting to justify 30 himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
1 tn Heb “cause me to know”; or “cause me to experience.”
2 tn This is a metaphorical way of saying, “you preserve my life.” The phrase “path of life” stands in contrast to death/Sheol in Prov 2:18-19; 5:5-6; 15:24.
3 tn Heb “abundance of joy [is] with your face.” The plural form of the noun שִׂמְחָה (simkhah, “joy”) occurs only here and in Ps 45:15. It may emphasize the degree of joy experienced.
4 tn Heb “delight [is] in your right hand forever.” The plural form of the adjective נָעִים (na’im, “pleasant, delightful”) may here emphasize the degree of delight experienced (see Job 36:11).
5 tn Heb “life he asked from you.” Another option is to translate the perfect verbal forms in v. 4 with the present tense, “he asks…you grant.”
6 tn Heb “you have granted him length of days forever and ever.” The phrase “length of days,” when used of human beings, usually refers to a lengthy period of time (such as one’s lifetime). See, for example, Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20. The additional phrase “forever and ever” is hyperbolic. While it seems to attribute eternal life to the king (see Pss 61:6-7; 72:5 as well), the underlying reality is the king’s enduring dynasty. He will live on, as it were, through his descendants, who will continue to rule over his kingdom long after he has passed off the scene.
7 tn Heb “for with you is the fountain of life, in your light we see light.” Water (note “fountain”) and light are here metaphors for life.
8 sn Hermon refers to Mount Hermon, located north of Israel.
9 sn The hills of Zion are those surrounding Zion (see Pss 87:1; 125:2). The psalmist does not intend to suggest that the dew from Mt. Hermon in the distant north actually flows down upon Zion. His point is that the same kind of heavy dew that replenishes Hermon may also be seen on Zion’s hills. See A. Cohen, Psalms (SoBB), 439. “Dew” here symbolizes divine blessing, as the next line suggests.
10 tn Or “for.”
11 tn Heb “there the
12 sn This verse is the only undisputed reference to a literal resurrection found in the Hebrew Bible.
13 tn Grk “And behold one came.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
14 sn A quotation from Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20.
15 sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.
16 tn Grk “kept.” The implication of this verb is that the man has obeyed the commandments without fail, so the adverb “wholeheartedly” has been added to the translation to bring out this nuance.
17 tn Grk “these things.” The referent of the pronoun (the laws mentioned by Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
19 tn Traditionally, “a lawyer.” This was an expert in the interpretation of the Mosaic law (see also Luke 7:30, where the same term occurs).
20 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 sn The combination of inherit with eternal life asks, in effect, “What must I do to be saved?”
22 tn Grk “How do you read?” The pronoun “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
23 tn Grk “And he”; the referent (the expert in religious law, shortened here to “the expert”) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
24 tn Grk “You will love.” The future indicative is used here with imperatival force (see ExSyn 452 and 569).
25 sn A quotation from Deut 6:5. The fourfold reference to different parts of the person says, in effect, that one should love God with all one’s being.
26 tn This portion of the reply is a quotation from Lev 19:18. The verb is repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
27 tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
28 sn Jesus commends the reply (you have answered correctly). What is assumed here, given the previous context, is that he will respond to Jesus’ message, as to love God is to respond to his Son; see v. 22.
29 tn Grk “And he”; the referent (the expert in religious law, shortened here to “the expert”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
30 tn Or “vindicate.”
31 tn Grk “now.”
32 tn Grk “received back their dead from resurrection.”
33 tn Grk “to obtain a better resurrection.”