31:23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers 1 of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly. 2
37:28 For the Lord promotes 3 justice,
and never abandons 4 his faithful followers.
They are permanently secure, 5
but the children 6 of evil men are wiped out. 7
97:10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects 8 the lives of his faithful followers;
he delivers them from the power 9 of the wicked.
2:1 My brothers and sisters, 21 do not show prejudice 22 if you possess faith 23 in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 24
1 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד, khasid) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
2 tn The participial forms in the second and third lines characterize the Lord as one who typically protects the faithful and judges the proud.
3 tn Heb “loves.” The verb “loves” is here metonymic; the
4 tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to this generalizing statement.
5 tn Or “protected forever.”
6 tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”
7 tn Or “cut off”; or “removed.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 28b state general truths.
8 tn The participle may be verbal, though it might also be understood as substantival and appositional to “the
9 tn Heb “hand.”
10 tn Literally “doing loyal love” (עֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד, ’oseh khesed). The noun refers to God’s covenant loyalty, his faithful love to those who belong to him. These are members of the covenant, recipients of grace, the people of God, whom God will preserve and protect from evil and its effects.
11 tn Heb “to thousands” or “to thousandth.” After “tenth,” Hebrew uses cardinal numbers for ordinals also. This statement is the antithesis of the preceding line. The “thousands” or “thousandth [generation]” are those who love Yahweh and keep his commands. These are descendants from the righteous, and even associates with them, who benefit from the mercy that God extends to his people. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 195) says that this passage teaches that God’s mercy transcends his wrath; in his providence the beneficial consequences of a life of goodness extend indefinitely further than the retribution that is the penalty for persisting in sin. To say that God’s loyal love extends to thousands of generations or the thousandth generation is parallel to saying that it endures forever (Ps. 118). See also Exod 34:7; Deut 5:10; 7:9; Ps 18:51; Jer 32:18.
12 tn Grk “And I give.”
13 tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”
14 tn Or “no one will seize.”
15 tn Or “is superior to all.”
16 tn Or “no one can seize.”
17 tc ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) is found after the verb συνεργεῖ (sunergei, “work”) in v. 28 by Ì46 A B 81 sa; the shorter reading is found in א C D F G Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï latt sy bo. Although the inclusion is supported by a significant early papyrus, the alliance of significant Alexandrian and Western witnesses favors the shorter reading. As well, the longer reading is evidently motivated by a need for clarification. Since ὁ θεός is textually suspect, it is better to read the text without it. This leaves two good translational options: either “he works all things together for good” or “all things work together for good.” In the first instance the subject is embedded in the verb and “God” is clearly implied (as in v. 29). In the second instance, πάντα (panta) becomes the subject of an intransitive verb. In either case, “What is expressed is a truly biblical confidence in the sovereignty of God” (C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:427).
18 tn Grk “he”; the referent (God’s Son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.
20 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
21 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
22 tn Or “partiality.”
23 tn Grk “do not have faith with personal prejudice,” with emphasis on the last phrase.
24 tn Grk “our Lord Jesus Christ of glory.” Here δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
25 tn Grk “a man of two minds,” continuing the description of the person in v. 7, giving the reason that he cannot expect to receive anything. The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person,” as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2).