Deuteronomy 6:1-2

Exhortation to Keep the Covenant Principles

6:1 Now these are the commandments, ¹  statutes, and ordinances that the Lord your God instructed me to teach you so that you may carry them out in the land where you are headed ²  6:2 and that you may so revere the Lord your God that you will keep all his statutes and commandments ³  that I am giving ⁴  you – you, your children, and your grandchildren – all your lives, to prolong your days.

Deuteronomy 7:12

Promises of Good for Covenant Obedience

7:12 If you obey these ordinances and are careful to do them, the Lord your God will faithfully keep covenant with you ⁵  as he promised ⁶  your ancestors.

Psalms 19:8-9

19:8 The Lord’s precepts are fair ⁷ 

and make one joyful. ⁸ 

The Lord’s commands ⁹  are pure ¹⁰ 

and give insight for life. ¹¹ 

19:9 The commands to fear the Lord are right ¹² 

and endure forever. ¹³ 

The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy

and absolutely just. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 119:13

119:13 With my lips I proclaim

all the regulations you have revealed. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 119:30

119:30 I choose the path of faithfulness;

I am committed to ¹⁶  your regulations.

Psalms 119:102

119:102 I do not turn aside from your regulations,

for you teach me.

[6:1]  ¹ tn Heb “commandment.” The word מִצְוָה (mitsvah) again is in the singular, serving as a comprehensive term for the whole stipulation section of the book. See note on the word “commandments” in 5:31.

[6:1]  ² tn Heb “where you are going over to possess it” (so NASB); NRSV “that you are about to cross into and occupy.”

[6:2]  ³ tn Here the terms are not the usual חֻקִּים (khuqqim) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim; as in v. 1) but חֻקֹּת (khuqqot, “statutes”) and מִצְוֹת (mitsot, “commandments”). It is clear that these terms are used interchangeably and that their technical precision ought not be overly stressed.

[6:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “commanding.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation.

[7:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “will keep with you the covenant and loyalty.” On the construction used here, see v. 9.

[7:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “which he swore on oath.” The relative pronoun modifies “covenant,” so one could translate “will keep faithfully the covenant (or promise) he made on oath to your ancestors.”

[19:8]  ⁷ tn Or “just.” Perhaps the idea is that they impart a knowledge of what is just and right.

[19:8]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “command.” The singular here refers to the law as a whole.

[19:8]  ¹⁰ tn Because they reflect God’s character, his commands provide a code of moral and ethical purity.

[19:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb [they] enlighten [the] eyes.

[19:9]  ¹² tn Heb “the fear of the Lord is clean.” The phrase “fear of the Lord” probably refers here to the law, which teaches one how to demonstrate proper reverence for the Lord. See Ps 111:10 for another possible use of the phrase in this sense.

[19:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “[it] stands permanently.”

[19:9]  ¹⁴ sn Trustworthy and absolutely just. The Lord’s commands accurately reflect God’s moral will for his people and are an expression of his just character.

[119:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “of your mouth.”

[119:30]  ¹⁶ 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).