Deuteronomy 4:8

4:8 And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just ¹  as this whole law ²  that I am about to share with ³  you today?

Nehemiah 9:13

9:13 “You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You provided them with just judgments, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.

Psalms 19:7-8

19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect

and preserves one’s life. ⁴ 

The rules set down by the Lord ⁵  are reliable ⁶ 

and impart wisdom to the inexperienced. ⁷ 

19:8 The Lord’s precepts are fair ⁸ 

and make one joyful. ⁹ 

The Lord’s commands ¹⁰  are pure ¹¹ 

and give insight for life. ¹² 

Psalms 119:97

מ (Mem)

119:97 O how I love your law!

All day long I meditate on it.

Psalms 119:127-128

119:127 For this reason ¹³  I love your commands

more than gold, even purest gold.

119:128 For this reason I carefully follow all your precepts. ¹⁴ 

I hate all deceitful actions. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 119:174

119:174 I long for your deliverance, O Lord;

I find delight in your law.

Romans 7:12-14

7:12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.

7:13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual – but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. ¹⁶ 

Romans 7:22

7:22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being.

Genesis 3:21

3:21 The Lord God made garments from skin ¹⁷  for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

[4:8]  ¹ tn Or “pure”; or “fair”; Heb “righteous.”

[4:8]  ² tn The Hebrew phrase הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת (hattorah hazzo’t), in this context, refers specifically to the Book of Deuteronomy. That is, it is the collection of all the חֻקִּים (khuqqim, “statutes,” 4:1) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim, “ordinances,” 4:1) to be included in the covenant text. In a full canonical sense, of course, it pertains to the entire Pentateuch or Torah.

[4:8]  ³ tn Heb “place before.”

[19:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “[it] restores life.” Elsewhere the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) when used with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “life”) as object, means to “rescue or preserve one’s life” (Job 33:30; Ps 35:17) or to “revive one’s strength” (emotionally or physically; cf. Ruth 4:15; Lam 1:11, 16, 19). Here the point seems to be that the law preserves the life of the one who studies it by making known God’s will. Those who know God’s will know how to please him and can avoid offending him. See v. 11a.

[19:7]  ⁵ tn Traditionally, “the testimony of the Lord.” The noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to the demands of God’s covenant law.

[19:7]  ⁶ tn God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.

[19:7]  ⁷ tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly.

[19:8]  ⁸ tn Or “just.” Perhaps the idea is that they impart a knowledge of what is just and right.

[19:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “[they] make happy [the] heart.” Perhaps the point is that they bring a sense of joyful satisfaction to the one who knows and keeps them, for those who obey God’s law are richly rewarded. See v. 11b.

[19:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “command.” The singular here refers to the law as a whole.

[19:8]  ¹¹ tn Because they reflect God’s character, his commands provide a code of moral and ethical purity.

[19:8]  ¹² tn Heb [they] enlighten [the] eyes.

[119:127]  ¹³ tn “For this reason” connects logically with the statement made in v. 126. Because the judgment the psalmist fears (see vv. 119-120) is imminent, he remains loyal to God’s law.

[119:128]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for this reason all the precepts of everything I regard as right.” The phrase “precepts of everything” is odd. It is preferable to take the kaf (כ) on כֹּל (kol, “everything) with the preceding form as a pronominal suffix, “your precepts,” and the lamed (ל) with the following verb as an emphatic particle. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 138.

[119:128]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “every false path.”

[7:14]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “under sin.”

[3:21]  ¹⁷ sn The Lord God made garments from skin. The text gives no indication of how this was done, or how they came by the skins. Earlier in the narrative (v. 7) the attempt of the man and the woman to cover their nakedness with leaves expressed their sense of alienation from each other and from God. By giving them more substantial coverings, God indicates this alienation is greater than they realize. This divine action is also ominous; God is preparing them for the more hostile environment in which they will soon be living (v. 23). At the same time, there is a positive side to the story in that God makes provision for the man’s and woman’s condition.