Job 23:12

23:12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion. ¹ 

Psalms 37:30

37:30 The godly speak wise words

and promote justice. ² 

Psalms 40:9-10

40:9 I have told the great assembly ³  about your justice. ⁴ 

Look! I spare no words! ⁵ 

O Lord, you know this is true.

40:10 I have not failed to tell about your justice; ⁶ 

I spoke about your reliability and deliverance;

I have not neglected to tell the great assembly about your loyal love and faithfulness. ⁷ 

Psalms 71:17-18

71:17 O God, you have taught me since I was young,

and I am still declaring ⁸  your amazing deeds.

71:18 Even when I am old and gray, ⁹ 

O God, do not abandon me,

until I tell the next generation about your strength,

and those coming after me about your power. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 119:13

119:13 With my lips I proclaim

all the regulations you have revealed. ¹¹ 

Acts 20:20

20:20 You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming ¹²  to you anything that would be helpful, ¹³  and from teaching you publicly ¹⁴  and from house to house,

Acts 20:27

20:27 For I did not hold back from ¹⁵  announcing ¹⁶  to you the whole purpose ¹⁷  of God.

¹ tc The form in the MT (מֵחֻקִּי, mekhuqqi) means “more than my portion” or “more than my law.” An expanded meaning results in “more than my necessary food” (see Ps 119:11; cf. KJV, NASB, ESV). HALOT 346 s.v. חֹק 1 indicates that חֹק (khoq) has the meaning of “portion” and is here a reference to “what is appointed for me.” The LXX and the Latin versions, along with many commentators, have בְּחֵקִי (bÿkheqi, “in my bosom”).

² tn Heb “The mouth of the godly [one] utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.” The singular form is used in a representative sense; the typical godly individual is in view. The imperfect verbal forms draw attention to the characteristic behavior of the godly.

³ sn The great assembly is also mentioned in Pss 22:25 and 35:18.

⁴ tn Heb “I proclaim justice in the great assembly.” Though “justice” appears without a pronoun here, the Lord’s just acts are in view (see v. 10). His “justice” (צֶדֶק, tsedeq) is here the deliverance that originates in his justice; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just.

⁵ tn Heb “Look! My lips I do not restrain.”

⁶ tn Heb “your justice I have not hidden in the midst of my heart.”

⁷ tn Heb “I have not hidden your loyal love and reliability.”

⁸ tn Heb “and until now I am declaring.”

⁹ tn Heb “and even unto old age and gray hair.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “until I declare your arm to a generation, to everyone who comes your power.” God’s “arm” here is an anthropomorphism that symbolizes his great strength.

¹¹ tn Heb “of your mouth.”

¹² tn Or “declaring.”

¹³ tn Or “profitable.” BDAG 960 s.v. συμφέρω 2.b.α has “τὰ συμφέροντα what advances your best interests or what is good for you Ac 20:20,” but the broader meaning (s.v. 2, “to be advantageous, help, confer a benefit, be profitable/useful”) is equally possible in this context.

¹⁴ tn Or “openly.”

¹⁵ tn Or “did not avoid.” BDAG 1041 s.v. ὑποστέλλω 2.b has “shrink from, avoid implying fear…οὐ γὰρ ὑπεστειλάμην τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι I did not shrink from proclaiming Ac 20:27”; L&N 13.160 has “to hold oneself back from doing something, with the implication of some fearful concern – ‘to hold back from, to shrink from, to avoid’…‘for I have not held back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God’ Ac 20:27.”

¹⁶ tn Or “proclaiming,” “declaring.”

¹⁷ tn Or “plan.”