Psalms 119:89-90

ל (Lamed)

119:89 O Lord, your instructions endure;

they stand secure in heaven. 1 

119:90 You demonstrate your faithfulness to all generations. 2 

You established the earth and it stood firm.

Psalms 119:152

119:152 I learned long ago that

you ordained your rules to last. 3 

Isaiah 40:8

40:8 The grass dries up,

the flowers wither,

but the decree of our God is forever reliable.” 4 

Isaiah 40:1

The Lord Returns to Jerusalem

40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”

says your 5  God.

Isaiah 1:25

1:25 I will attack you; 6 

I will purify your metal with flux. 7 

I will remove all your slag. 8 

1 tn Heb “Forever, O Lord, your word stands firm in heaven,” or “Forever, O Lord, [is] your word; it stands firm in heaven.” The translation assumes that “your word” refers here to the body of divine instructions contained in the law (note the frequent references to the law in vv. 92-96). See vv. 9, 16-17, 57, 101, 105, 130, 139 and 160-61. The reference in v. 86 to God’s law being faithful favors this interpretation. Another option is that “your word” refers to God’s assuring word of promise, mentioned in vv. 25, 28, 42, 65, 74, 81, 107, 114, 147 and 169. In this case one might translate, “O Lord, your promise is reliable, it stands firm in heaven.”

2 tn Heb “to a generation and a generation [is] your faithfulness.”

3 tn Heb “long ago I knew concerning your rules, that forever you established them.” See v. 89 for the same idea. The translation assumes that the preposition מִן (min) prefixed to “your rules” introduces the object of the verb יָדַע (yada’), as in 1 Sam 23:23. Another option is that the preposition indicates source, in which case one might translate, “Long ago I realized from your rules that forever you established them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

4 tn Heb “but the word of our God stands forever.” In this context the divine “word” specifically refers to his decreed promise assuring Jerusalem that her suffering is over and his glorious return imminent (vv. 1-5).

5 tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine plural. The identity of the addressee is uncertain: (1) God’s people may be addressed, or (2) the unidentified heralds commanded to comfort Jerusalem.

6 tn Heb “turn my hand against you.” The second person pronouns in vv. 25-26 are feminine singular. Personified Jerusalem is addressed. The idiom “turn the hand against” has the nuance of “strike with the hand, attack,” in Ps 81:15 HT (81:14 ET); Ezek 38:12; Am 1:8; Zech 13:7. In Jer 6:9 it is used of gleaning grapes.

7 tn Heb “I will purify your dross as [with] flux.” “Flux” refers here to minerals added to the metals in a furnace to prevent oxides from forming. For this interpretation of II בֹּר (bor), see HALOT 153 s.v. II בֹּר and 750 s.v. סִיג.

8 sn The metaphor comes from metallurgy; slag is the substance left over after the metallic ore has been refined.