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
25:10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable 5
to those who follow the demands of his covenant. 6
32:4 As for the Rock, 7 his work is perfect,
for all his ways are just.
He is a reliable God who is never unjust,
he is fair 8 and upright.
32:2 My teaching will drop like the rain,
my sayings will drip like the dew, 9
as rain drops upon the grass,
and showers upon new growth.
22:1 When you see 10 your neighbor’s 11 ox or sheep going astray, do not ignore it; 12 you must return it without fail 13 to your neighbor.
“Great and astounding are your deeds,
Lord God, the All-Powerful! 21
Just 22 and true are your ways,
King over the nations! 23
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 “all the paths of the
6 tn Heb “to the ones who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”
7 tc The LXX reads Θεός (qeos, “God”) for the MT’s “Rock.”
8 tn Or “just” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “righteous” (NASB).
9 tn Or “mist,” “light drizzle.” In some contexts the term appears to refer to light rain, rather than dew.
10 tn Heb “you must not see,” but, if translated literally into English, the statement is misleading.
11 tn Heb “brother’s” (also later in this verse). In this context it is not limited to one’s siblings, however; cf. NAB “your kinsman’s.”
12 tn Heb “hide yourself.”
13 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with the words “without fail.”
14 tn Aram “walk.”
15 tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.
16 tn Grk “to this age.”
17 sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”
18 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
19 tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.
20 tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
21 tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”
22 tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.
23 tc Certain