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
105:8 He always remembers his covenantal decree,
the promise he made 5 to a thousand generations –
119:86 All your commands are reliable.
I am pursued without reason. 6 Help me!
119:151 You are near, O Lord,
and all your commands are reliable. 7
119:160 Your instructions are totally reliable;
all your just regulations endure. 8
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 Heb “[the] word he commanded.” The text refers here to God’s unconditional covenantal promise to Abraham and the patriarchs, as vv. 10-12 make clear.
6 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.
7 tn Or “truth.”
8 tn Heb “the head of your word is truth, and forever [is] all your just regulation.” The term “head” is used here of the “sum total” of God’s instructions.