Psalms 19:9

19:9 The commands to fear the Lord are right ¹ 

and endure forever. ² 

The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy

and absolutely just. ³ 

Psalms 119:127-128

119:127 For this reason ⁴  I love your commands

more than gold, even purest gold.

119:128 For this reason I carefully follow all your precepts. ⁵ 

I hate all deceitful actions. ⁶ 

Romans 7:12

7:12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.

Revelation 15:3

15:3 They ⁷  sang the song of Moses the servant ⁸  of God and the song of the Lamb: ⁹ 

“Great and astounding are your deeds,

Lord God, the All-Powerful! ¹⁰ 

Just ¹¹  and true are your ways,

King over the nations! ¹² 

¹ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord is clean.” The phrase “fear of the Lord” probably refers here to the law, which teaches one how to demonstrate proper reverence for the Lord. See Ps 111:10 for another possible use of the phrase in this sense.

² tn Heb “[it] stands permanently.”

³ 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.

⁴ tn “For this reason” connects logically with the statement made in v. 126. Because the judgment the psalmist fears (see vv. 119-120) is imminent, he remains loyal to God’s law.

⁵ tn Heb “for this reason all the precepts of everything I regard as right.” The phrase “precepts of everything” is odd. It is preferable to take the kaf (כ) on כֹּל (kol, “everything) with the preceding form as a pronominal suffix, “your precepts,” and the lamed (ל) with the following verb as an emphatic particle. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 138.

⁶ tn Heb “every false path.”

⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁸ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

⁹ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

¹⁰ 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.”

¹¹ tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

¹² tc Certain mss (Ì⁴⁷ א*^,2 C 1006 1611 1841 pc) read “ages” (αἰώνων, aiwnwn) instead of “nations” (ἐθνῶν, eqnwn), which itself is supported by several mss (א¹ A 051 Ï). The ms evidence seems to be fairly balanced, though αἰώνων has somewhat better support. The replacement of “ages” with “nations” is possibly a scribal attempt to harmonize this verse with the use of “nations” in the following verse. On the other hand, the idea of “nations” fits well with v. 4 and it may be that “ages” is a scribal attempt to assimilate this text to 1 Tim 1:17: “the king of the ages” (βασιλεὺς τῶν αἰώνων, basileu" twn aiwnwn). The decision is a difficult one since both scenarios deal well with the evidence, though the verbal parallel with 1 Tim 1:17 is exact while the parallel with v. 4 is not. The term “king” occurs 17 other times (most occurrences refer to earthly kings) in Revelation and it is not used with either “ages” or “nations” apart from this verse. Probably the reading “nations” should be considered original due to the influence of 1 Tim 1:17.