119:86 All your commands are reliable.
I am pursued without reason. 1 Help me!
119:144 Your rules remain just. 2
Give me insight so that I can live. 3
19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect
and preserves one’s life. 4
The rules set down by the Lord 5 are reliable 6
and impart wisdom to the inexperienced. 7
19:8 The Lord’s precepts are fair 8
and make one joyful. 9
The Lord’s commands 10 are pure 11
and give insight for life. 12
19:9 The commands to fear the Lord are right 13
and endure forever. 14
The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy
and absolutely just. 15
1 sn God’s commands are a reliable guide to right and wrong. By keeping them the psalmist is doing what is right, yet he is still persecuted.
2 tn Heb “just are your rules forever.”
3 tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.
4 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.
5 tn Traditionally, “the testimony of the
6 tn God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.
7 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.
8 tn Or “just.” Perhaps the idea is that they impart a knowledge of what is just and right.
9 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.
10 tn Heb “command.” The singular here refers to the law as a whole.
11 tn Because they reflect God’s character, his commands provide a code of moral and ethical purity.
12 tn Heb [they] enlighten [the] eyes.
13 tn Heb “the fear of the
14 tn Heb “[it] stands permanently.”
15 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.
16 tn Or “pure”; or “fair”; Heb “righteous.”
17 tn The Hebrew phrase הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת (hattorah hazzo’t), in this context, refers specifically to the Book of Deuteronomy. That is, it is the collection of all the חֻקִּים (khuqqim, “statutes,” 4:1) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim, “ordinances,” 4:1) to be included in the covenant text. In a full canonical sense, of course, it pertains to the entire Pentateuch or Torah.
18 tn Heb “place before.”