Psalms 61:7

61:7 May he reign ¹  forever before God!

Decree that your loyal love and faithfulness should protect him. ² 

Psalms 89:1-2

Psalm 89 ³ 

A well-written song ⁴  by Ethan the Ezrachite.

89:1 I will sing continually ⁵  about the Lord’s faithful deeds;

to future generations I will proclaim your faithfulness. ⁶ 

89:2 For I say, “Loyal love is permanently established; ⁷ 

in the skies you set up your faithfulness.” ⁸ 

Micah 7:20

7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham, ⁹ 

which you promised on oath to our ancestors ¹⁰ 

in ancient times. ¹¹ 

John 1:17

1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but ¹²  grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:8-9

15:8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised ¹³  on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to the fathers, ¹⁴  15:9 and thus the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy. ¹⁵  As it is written, “Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to your name.” ¹⁶ 

¹ tn Heb “sit [enthroned].” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive here, expressing the psalmist’s prayer.

² tn Heb “loyal love and faithfulness appoint, let them protect him.”

³ sn Psalm 89. The psalmist praises God as the sovereign creator of the world. He recalls God’s covenant with David, but then laments that the promises of the covenant remain unrealized. The covenant promised the Davidic king military victories, but the king has now been subjected to humiliating defeat.

⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 88.

⁵ tn Or “forever.”

⁶ tn Heb “to a generation and a generation I will make known your faithfulness with my mouth.”

⁷ tn Heb “built.”

⁸ sn You set up your faithfulness. This may allude to the Lord’s heavenly throne, which symbolizes his just rule and from which the Lord decrees his unconditional promises (see vv. 8, 14).

⁹ tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.

¹⁰ tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.

¹¹ tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”

¹² tn “But” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the implied contrast between the Mosaic law and grace through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 seems to indicate clearly that the Old Covenant (Sinai) was being contrasted with the New. In Jewish sources the Law was regarded as a gift from God (Josephus, Ant. 3.8.10 [3.223]; Pirqe Avot 1.1; Sifre Deut 31:4 §305). Further information can be found in T. F. Glasson, Moses in the Fourth Gospel (SBT).

¹³ tn Grk “of the circumcision”; that is, the Jews.

¹⁴ tn Or “to the patriarchs.”

¹⁵ tn There are two major syntactical alternatives which are both awkward: (1) One could make “glorify” dependent on “Christ has become a minister” and coordinate with “to confirm” and the result would be rendered “Christ has become a minister of circumcision to confirm the promises…and so that the Gentiles might glorify God.” (2) One could make “glorify” dependent on “I tell you” and coordinate with “Christ has become a minister” and the result would be rendered “I tell you that Christ has become a minister of circumcision…and that the Gentiles glorify God.” The second rendering is preferred.

¹⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 18:49.