105:8 He always remembers his covenantal decree,
the promise he made 3 to a thousand generations –
111:5 He gives 4 food to his faithful followers; 5
he always remembers his covenant. 6
111:9 He delivered his people; 7
he ordained that his covenant be observed forever. 8
His name is holy and awesome.
14:21 For the honor of your name, 9 do not treat Jerusalem 10 with contempt.
Do not treat with disdain the place where your glorious throne sits. 11
Be mindful of your covenant with us. Do not break it! 12
1:72 He has done this 13 to show mercy 14 to our ancestors, 15
and to remember his holy covenant 16 –
1 tn Heb “my covenant with Abraham I will remember.” The phrase “I will remember” has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2 tn Heb “covenant of former ones.”
3 tn Heb “[the] word he commanded.” The text refers here to God’s unconditional covenantal promise to Abraham and the patriarchs, as vv. 10-12 make clear.
4 tn Or “gave,” if the events of the exodus and conquest period (see v. 6, 9) are primarily in view.
5 tn Heb “those who fear him.”
6 tn Or “he remembers his covenant forever” (see Ps 105:8).
7 tn Heb “redemption he sent for his people.”
8 tn Heb “he commanded forever his covenant.”
9 tn Heb “For the sake of your name.”
10 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
11 tn English versions quite commonly supply “us” as an object for the verb in the first line. This is probably wrong. The Hebrew text reads: “Do not treat with contempt for the sake of your name; do not treat with disdain your glorious throne.” This is case of poetic parallelism where the object is left hanging until the second line. For an example of this see Prov 13:1 in the original and consult E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 103-4. There has also been some disagreement whether “your glorious throne” refers to the temple (as in 17:12) or Jerusalem (as in 3:17). From the beginning of the prayer in v. 19 where a similar kind of verb has been used with respect to Zion/Jerusalem it would appear that the contextual referent is Jerusalem. The absence of an object from the first line makes it possible to retain part of the metaphor in the translation and still convey some meaning.
12 tn Heb “Remember, do not break your covenant with us.”
13 tn The words “He has done this” (referring to the raising up of the horn of salvation from David’s house) are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to allow a new sentence to be started in the translation. The Greek sentence is lengthy and complex at this point, while contemporary English uses much shorter sentences.
14 sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.
15 tn Or “our forefathers”; Grk “our fathers.” This begins with the promise to Abraham (vv. 55, 73), and thus refers to many generations of ancestors.
16 sn The promises of God can be summarized as being found in the one promise (the oath that he swore) to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3).