18:21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands; 1
I have not rebelled against my God. 2
18:22 For I am aware of all his regulations, 3
and I do not reject his rules. 4
18:23 I was innocent before him,
and kept myself from sinning. 5
18:24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds; 6
he took notice of my blameless behavior. 7
1 tn Heb “for I have kept the ways of the
2 tn Heb “I have not acted wickedly from my God.” The statement is elliptical; the idea is, “I have not acted wickedly and, in so doing, departed from my God.”
3 tn Heb “for all his regulations [are] before me.” The Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim, “regulations”) refers to God’s covenantal requirements, especially those which the king is responsible to follow (cf. Deut 17:18-20). See also Pss 19:9 (cf. vv. 7-8); 89:30; 147:20 (cf. v. 19), as well as the numerous uses of the term in Ps 119.
4 tn Heb “and his rules I do not turn aside from me.” 2 Sam 22:23 reads, “and his rules, I do not turn aside from it.” The prefixed verbal form is probably an imperfect; the psalmist here generalizes about his loyalty to God’s commands. The Lord’s “rules” are the stipulations of the covenant which the king was responsible to obey (see Ps 89:31; cf. v. 30 and Deut 17:18-20).
5 tn Heb “from my sin,” that is, from making it my own in any way.
6 tn Heb “according to my righteousness.”
7 tn 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.