89:5 O Lord, the heavens 1 praise your amazing deeds,
as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly. 2
89:8 O Lord, sovereign God! 3
Who is strong like you, O Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
89:33 But I will not remove 4 my loyal love from him,
nor be unfaithful to my promise. 5
89:49 Where are your earlier faithful deeds, 6 O Lord, 7
the ones performed in accordance with your reliable oath to David? 8
36:5 O Lord, your loyal love reaches to the sky; 9
your faithfulness to the clouds. 10
92:2 It is fitting 11 to proclaim your loyal love in the morning,
and your faithfulness during the night,
25:1 O Lord, you are my God! 12
I will exalt you in praise, I will extol your fame. 13
For you have done extraordinary things,
and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed. 14
3:23 They are fresh 15 every morning;
your faithfulness is abundant! 16
7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob
and extend your loyal love to Abraham, 17
which you promised on oath to our ancestors 18
in ancient times. 19
1 tn As the following context makes clear, the personified “heavens” here stand by metonymy for the angelic beings that surround God’s heavenly throne.
2 tn Heb “in the assembly of the holy ones.” The phrase “holy ones” sometimes refers to God’s people (Ps 34:9) or to their priestly leaders (2 Chr 35:3), but here it refers to God’s heavenly assembly and the angels that surround his throne (see vv. 6-7).
3 tn Traditionally “God of hosts.” The title here pictures the
4 tn Heb “break”; “make ineffectual.” Some prefer to emend אָפִיר (’afir; the Hiphil of פָּרַר, parar, “to break”) to אָסִיר (’asir; the Hiphil of סוּר, sur, “to turn aside”), a verb that appears in 2 Sam 7:15.
5 tn Heb “and I will not deal falsely with my faithfulness.”
6 sn The Lord’s faithful deeds are also mentioned in Pss 17:7 and 25:6.
7 tc Many medieval Hebrew
8 tn Heb “[which] you swore on oath to David by your faithfulness.”
9 tn Heb “[is] in the heavens.”
10 sn The Lord’s loyal love/faithfulness is almost limitless. He is loyal and faithful to his creation and blesses mankind and the animal kingdom with physical life and sustenance (vv. 6-9).
11 tn The words “it is fitting” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Verses 1-3 are actually one long sentence in the Hebrew text, but this has been divided up into two shorter sentences in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style.
12 sn The prophet speaks here as one who has observed the coming judgment of the proud.
13 tn Heb “name.” See the note at 24:15.
14 tn Heb “plans from long ago [in] faithfulness, trustworthiness.” The feminine noun אֱמוּנָה (’emunah, “faithfulness”) and masculine noun אֹמֶן (’omen, “trustworthiness”), both of which are derived from the root אָמַן (’aman), are juxtaposed to emphasize the basic idea conveyed by the synonyms. Here they describe the absolute reliability of the divine plans.
15 tn Heb “they are new.”
16 tn The adjective רַב (rav) has a broad range of meanings: (1) quantitative: “much, numerous, many (with plurals), abundant, enough, exceedingly” and (2) less often in a qualitative sense: “great” (a) of space and location, (b) “strong” as opposed to “weak” and (c) “major.” The traditional translation, “great is thy faithfulness,” is less likely than the quantitative sense: “your faithfulness is abundant” [or, “plentiful”]. NJPS is on target in its translation: “Ample is your grace!”
17 tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.
18 tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.
19 tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”
20 tn Grk “before eternal ages.”