19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect
and preserves one’s life. 1
The rules set down by the Lord 2 are reliable 3
and impart wisdom to the inexperienced. 4
19:8 The Lord’s precepts are fair 5
and make one joyful. 6
The Lord’s commands 7 are pure 8
and give insight for life. 9
19:9 The commands to fear the Lord are right 10
and endure forever. 11
The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy
and absolutely just. 12
19:10 They are of greater value 13 than gold,
than even a great amount of pure gold;
they bring greater delight 14 than honey,
than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.
19:11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there; 15
those who obey them receive a rich reward. 16
ב (Bet)
119:9 How can a young person 17 maintain a pure life? 18
By guarding it according to your instructions! 19
119:11 In my heart I store up 20 your words, 21
so I might not sin against you.
6:23 For the commandments 22 are like 23 a lamp, 24
instruction is like a light,
and rebukes of discipline are like 25 the road leading to life, 26
1 tn Heb “[it] restores life.” Elsewhere the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) when used with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “life”) as object, means to “rescue or preserve one’s life” (Job 33:30; Ps 35:17) or to “revive one’s strength” (emotionally or physically; cf. Ruth 4:15; Lam 1:11, 16, 19). Here the point seems to be that the law preserves the life of the one who studies it by making known God’s will. Those who know God’s will know how to please him and can avoid offending him. See v. 11a.
2 tn Traditionally, “the testimony of the
3 tn God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.
4 tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly.
5 tn Or “just.” Perhaps the idea is that they impart a knowledge of what is just and right.
6 tn Heb “[they] make happy [the] heart.” Perhaps the point is that they bring a sense of joyful satisfaction to the one who knows and keeps them, for those who obey God’s law are richly rewarded. See v. 11b.
7 tn Heb “command.” The singular here refers to the law as a whole.
8 tn Because they reflect God’s character, his commands provide a code of moral and ethical purity.
9 tn Heb [they] enlighten [the] eyes.
10 tn Heb “the fear of the
11 tn Heb “[it] stands permanently.”
12 sn Trustworthy and absolutely just. The Lord’s commands accurately reflect God’s moral will for his people and are an expression of his just character.
13 tn Heb “more desirable.”
14 tn Heb “are sweeter.” God’s law is “sweet’ in the sense that, when obeyed, it brings a great reward (see v. 11b).
15 tn Heb “moreover your servant is warned by them.”
16 tn Heb “in the keeping of them [there is] a great reward.”
17 tn Heb “young man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender specific “young man” has been translated with the more neutral “young person.”
18 tn Heb “purify his path.”
19 tn Heb “by keeping according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew
20 tn Or “hide.”
21 tn Heb “your word.” Some medieval Hebrew
22 tn Heb “the commandment” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
23 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
24 sn The terms “lamp,” “light,” and “way” are all metaphors. The positive teachings and commandments will illumine or reveal to the disciple the way to life; the disciplinary correctives will provide guidance into fullness of life.
25 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
26 tn Heb “the way of life” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV, NLT “the way to life.” The noun “life” is a genitive following the construct “way.” It could be an attributive genitive modifying the kind of way/course of life that instruction provides, but it could also be objective in that the course of life followed would produce and lead to life.
27 sn An allusion to Ps 143:2.
28 tn Grk “because by the works of the law no flesh is justified before him.” Some recent scholars have understood the phrase ἒργα νόμου (erga nomou, “works of the law”) to refer not to obedience to the Mosaic law generally, but specifically to portions of the law that pertain to things like circumcision and dietary laws which set the Jewish people apart from the other nations (e.g., J. D. G. Dunn, Romans [WBC], 1:155). Other interpreters, like C. E. B. Cranfield (“‘The Works of the Law’ in the Epistle to the Romans,” JSNT 43 [1991]: 89-101) reject this narrow interpretation for a number of reasons, among which the most important are: (1) The second half of v. 20, “for through the law comes the knowledge of sin,” is hard to explain if the phrase “works of the law” is understood in a restricted sense; (2) the plural phrase “works of the law” would have to be understood in a different sense from the singular phrase “the work of the law” in 2:15; (3) similar phrases involving the law in Romans (2:13, 14; 2:25, 26, 27; 7:25; 8:4; and 13:8) which are naturally related to the phrase “works of the law” cannot be taken to refer to circumcision (in fact, in 2:25 circumcision is explicitly contrasted with keeping the law). Those interpreters who reject the “narrow” interpretation of “works of the law” understand the phrase to refer to obedience to the Mosaic law in general.
29 tn Grk “is.”