Psalms 18:23-24

18:23 I was innocent before him,

and kept myself from sinning.¹

18:24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds;²

he took notice of my blameless behavior.³

Psalms 128:1-2

Psalm 128⁴

A song of ascents.⁵

128:1 How blessed is every one of the Lord’s loyal followers,⁶

each one who keeps his commands!⁷

128:2 You⁸ will eat what you worked so hard to grow.⁹

You will be blessed and secure.¹⁰

Galatians 6:7-8

6:7 Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool.¹¹ For a person¹² will reap what he sows, 6:8 because the person who sows to his own flesh¹³ will reap corruption¹⁴ from the flesh,¹⁵ but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

Hebrews 6:10

6:10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love you have demonstrated for his name, in having served and continuing to serve the saints.

¹tn Heb “from my sin,” that is, from making it my own in any way.

²tn Heb “according to my righteousness.”

³tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands before his eyes.” 2 Sam 22:25 reads “according to my purity before his eyes.” The verbal repetition (compare vv. 20 and 24) sets off vv. 20-24 as a distinct sub-unit within the psalm.

⁴sn Psalm 128. The psalmist observes that the godly individual has genuine happiness because the Lord rewards such a person with prosperity and numerous children.

⁵sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

⁶tn Heb “every fearer of the Lord.”

⁷tn Heb “the one who walks in his ways.”

⁸tn The psalmist addresses the representative God-fearing man, as indicated by the references to “your wife” (v. 3) and “the man” (v. 4), as well as the second masculine singular pronominal and verbal forms in vv. 2-6.

⁹tn Heb “the work of your hands, indeed you will eat.”

¹⁰tn Heb “how blessed you [will be] and it will be good for you.”

¹¹tn Or “is not mocked,” “will not be ridiculed” (L&N 33.409). BDAG 660 s.v. μυκτηρίζω has “of God οὐ μ. he is not to be mocked, treated w. contempt, perh. outwitted Gal 6:7.”

¹²tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.

¹³tn BDAG 915 s.v. σάρξ 2.c.α states: “In Paul’s thought esp., all parts of the body constitute a totality known as σ. or flesh, which is dominated by sin to such a degree that wherever flesh is, all forms of sin are likew. present, and no good thing can live in the σάρξ…Gal 5:13, 24;…Opp. τὸ πνεῦμα…Gal 3:3; 5:16, 17ab; 6:8ab.”

¹⁴tn Or “destruction.”

¹⁵tn See the note on the previous occurrence of the word “flesh” in this verse.