1 Kings 2:4

2:4 and the Lord will fulfill his promise to me, ¹  ‘If your descendants watch their step ²  and live faithfully in my presence ³  with all their heart and being, ⁴  then,’ he promised, ⁵  ‘you will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ ⁶ 

1 Kings 9:4

9:4 You must serve me with integrity and sincerity, just as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations. ⁷ 

1 Kings 15:5

15:5 He did this ⁸  because David had done what he approved ⁹  and had not disregarded any of his commandments ¹⁰  his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite.

1 Kings 15:2

15:2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. ¹¹  His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom. ¹² 

1 Kings 20:3

20:3 He said to him, “This is what Ben Hadad says, ‘Your silver and your gold are mine, as well as the best of your wives and sons.’”

Psalms 15:2

15:2 Whoever lives a blameless life, ¹³ 

does what is right,

and speaks honestly. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 18:20-24

18:20 The Lord repaid ¹⁵  me for my godly deeds; ¹⁶ 

he rewarded ¹⁷  my blameless behavior. ¹⁸ 

18:21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands; ¹⁹ 

I have not rebelled against my God. ²⁰ 

18:22 For I am aware of all his regulations, ²¹ 

and I do not reject his rules. ²² 

18:23 I was innocent before him,

and kept myself from sinning. ²³ 

18:24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds; ²⁴ 

he took notice of my blameless behavior. ²⁵ 

[2:4]  ¹ tn Heb “then the Lord will establish his word which he spoke to me, saying.”

[2:4]  ² tn Heb “guard their way.”

[2:4]  ³ tn Heb “by walking before me in faithfulness.”

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Or “soul.”

[2:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “saying.”

[2:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “there will not be cut off from you a man from upon the throne of Israel.”

[9:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “As for you, if you walk before me, as David your father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, by doing all which I commanded you, [and] you keep my rules and my regulations.” Verse 4 is actually a lengthy protasis (“if” section) of a conditional sentence, the apodosis (“then” section) of which appears in v. 5.

[15:5]  ⁸ tn The words “he did this” are added for stylistic reasons.

[15:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”

[15:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and had not turned aside from all which he commanded him.”

[15:2]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:2]  ¹² sn Abishalom (also in v. 10) is a variant of the name Absalom (cf. 2 Chr 11:20). The more common form is used by TEV, NLT.

[15:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “one who walks blamelessly.”

[15:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “one who speaks truth in his heart”; or “one who speaks truth [that is] in his heart.” This apparently refers to formulating a truthful statement in one’s mind and then honestly revealing that statement in one’s speech.

[18:20]  ¹⁵ tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.

[18:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “according to my righteousness.” As vv. 22-24 make clear, the psalmist refers here to his unwavering obedience to God’s commands. In these verses the psalmist explains that the Lord was pleased with him and willing to deliver him because he had been loyal to God and obedient to his commandments. Ancient Near Eastern literature contains numerous parallels. A superior (a god or king) would typically reward a subject (a king or the servant of a king, respectively) for loyalty and obedience. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 211-13.

[18:20]  ¹⁷ tn The unreduced Hiphil prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, in which case the psalmist would be generalizing. However, both the preceding and following contexts (see especially v. 24) suggest he is narrating his experience. Despite its unreduced form, the verb is better taken as a preterite. For other examples of unreduced Hiphil preterites, see Pss 55:14a; 68:9a, 10b; 80:8a; 89:43a; 107:38b; 116:6b.

[18:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands he repaid to me.” “Hands” suggest activity and behavior.

[18:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for I have kept the ways of the Lord.” The phrase “ways of the Lord” refers here to the “conduct required” by the Lord. In Ps 25 the Lord’s “ways” are associated with his covenantal demands (see vv. 4, 9-10). See also Ps 119:3 (cf. vv. 1, 4), as well as Deut 8:6; 10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; 30:16.

[18:21]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I have not acted wickedly from my God.” The statement is elliptical; the idea is, “I have not acted wickedly and, in so doing, departed from my God.”

[18:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “for all his regulations [are] before me.” The Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim, “regulations”) refers to God’s covenantal requirements, especially those which the king is responsible to follow (cf. Deut 17:18-20). See also Pss 19:9 (cf. vv. 7-8); 89:30; 147:20 (cf. v. 19), as well as the numerous uses of the term in Ps 119.

[18:22]  ²² tn Heb “and his rules I do not turn aside from me.” 2 Sam 22:23 reads, “and his rules, I do not turn aside from it.” The prefixed verbal form is probably an imperfect; the psalmist here generalizes about his loyalty to God’s commands. The Lord’s “rules” are the stipulations of the covenant which the king was responsible to obey (see Ps 89:31; cf. v. 30 and Deut 17:18-20).

[18:23]  ²³ tn Heb “from my sin,” that is, from making it my own in any way.

[18:24]  ²⁴ tn Heb “according to my righteousness.”

[18:24]  ²⁵ tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands before his eyes.” 2 Sam 22:25 reads “according to my purity before his eyes.” The verbal repetition (compare vv. 20 and 24) sets off vv. 20-24 as a distinct sub-unit within the psalm.