Deuteronomy 30:19

30:19 Today I invoke heaven and earth as a witness against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before you. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live!

Joshua 24:15

24:15 If you have no desire ¹  to worship ²  the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, ³  whether it be the gods whom your ancestors ⁴  worshiped ⁵  beyond the Euphrates, ⁶  or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family ⁷  will worship ⁸  the Lord!”

Joshua 24:22

24:22 Joshua said to the people, “Do you agree to be witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to worship the Lord?” ⁹  They replied, “We are witnesses!” ¹⁰ 

Psalms 17:15

17:15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face; ¹¹ 

when I awake you will reveal yourself to me. ¹² 

Psalms 119:30

119:30 I choose the path of faithfulness;

I am committed to ¹³  your regulations.

Psalms 119:111

119:111 I claim your rules as my permanent possession,

for they give me joy. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 119:173

119:173 May your hand help me,

for I choose to obey ¹⁵  your precepts.

[24:15]  ¹ tn Heb “if it is bad in your eyes.”

[24:15]  ² tn Or “to serve.”

[24:15]  ³ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[24:15]  ⁵ tn Or “served.”

[24:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.

[24:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[24:15]  ⁸ tn Or “will serve.”

[24:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the Lord to serve him.”

[24:22]  ¹⁰ sn Like witnesses in a court of law, Israel’s solemn vow to worship the Lord will testify against them in the divine court if the nation ever violates its commitment.

[17:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I, in innocence, I will see your face.” To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 11:7; see also Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (ra’ah), not חָזַה (khazah), is used]). Here, however, the psalmist may be anticipating a mystical experience. See the following note on the word “me.”

[17:15]  ¹² tn Heb “I will be satisfied, when I awake, [with] your form.” The noun תְּמוּנָה (tÿmunah) normally carries the nuance “likeness” or “form.” In Job 4:16 it refers to a ghostlike spiritual entity (see v. 15) that revealed itself to Eliphaz during the night. The psalmist may anticipate a mystical encounter with God in which he expects to see a manifestation of God’s presence (i.e., a theophany), perhaps in conjunction with an oracle of deliverance. During the quiet darkness of the night, God examines the psalmist’s inner motives and finds them to be pure (see v. 3). The psalmist is confident that when he awakens, perhaps sometime during the night or in the morning, he will be visited by God and assured of vindication.

[119:30]  ¹³ tn BDB 1000-1001 s.v. I שָׁוָה derives the verb from the first homonym listed, meaning “to agree with; to be like; to resemble.” It here means (in the Piel stem) “to be accounted suitable,” which in turn would mean by metonymy “to accept; to be committed to.” Some prefer to derive the verb from a homonym meaning “to place; to set,” but in this case an elliptical prepositional phrase must be understood, “I place your regulations [before me]” (see Ps 16:8).

[119:111]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for the joy of my heart [are] they.”

[119:173]  ¹⁵ tn The words “to obey” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.