Deuteronomy 7:9

7:9 So realize that the Lord your God is the true God, ¹  the faithful God who keeps covenant faithfully ²  with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

Nehemiah 1:5

1:5 Then I said, “Please, O LORD God of heaven, great and awesome God, who keeps his loving covenant ³  with those who love him and obey ⁴  his commandments,

Nehemiah 9:32

9:32 “So now, our God – the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity ⁵  – do not regard as inconsequential ⁶  all the hardship that has befallen us – our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people – from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day!

Psalms 89:3-5

89:3 The Lord said, ⁷ 

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;

I have made a promise on oath to David, my servant:

89:4 ‘I will give you an eternal dynasty ⁸ 

and establish your throne throughout future generations.’” ⁹  (Selah)

89:5 O Lord, the heavens ¹⁰  praise your amazing deeds,

as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly. ¹¹ 

Daniel 9:4

9:4 I prayed to the LORD my God, confessing in this way:

“O Lord, ¹²  great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant ¹³  with those who love him and keep his commandments,

Micah 7:19-20

7:19 You will once again ¹⁴  have mercy on us;

you will conquer ¹⁵  our evil deeds;

you will hurl our ¹⁶  sins into the depths of the sea. ¹⁷ 

7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham, ¹⁸ 

which you promised on oath to our ancestors ¹⁹ 

in ancient times. ²⁰ 

Luke 1:72

1:72 He has done this ²¹  to show mercy ²²  to our ancestors, ²³ 

and to remember his holy covenant ²⁴  –

[7:9]  ¹ tn Heb “the God.” The article here expresses uniqueness; cf. TEV “is the only God”; NLT “is indeed God.”

[7:9]  ² tn Heb “who keeps covenant and loyalty.” The syndetic construction of בְּרִית (bÿrit) and חֶסֶד (khesed) should be understood not as “covenant” plus “loyalty” but as an adverbial construction in which חֶסֶד (“loyalty”) modifies the verb שָׁמַר (shamar, “keeps”).

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The phrase is a hendiadys: the first noun retains its full nominal sense, while the second noun functions adjectivally (“loyal love” = loving). Alternately, the first might function adjectivally and the second noun function as the noun: “covenant and loyal love” = covenant fidelity (see Neh 9:32).

[1:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “keep.” The Hebrew verb שָׁמַר (shamar, “to observe; to keep”) is often used as an idiom that means “to obey” the commandments of God (e.g., Exod 20:6; Deut 5:16; 23:24; 29:8; Judg 2:22; 1 Kgs 2:43; 11:11; Ps 119:8, 17, 34; Jer 35:18; Ezek 17:14; Amos 2:4). See BDB 1036 s.v. 3.c.

[9:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys. The second noun retains its full nominal sense, while the first functions adjectivally: “the covenant and loyalty” = covenant fidelity.

[9:32]  ⁶ tn Heb “do not let it seem small in your sight.”

[89:3]  ⁷ tn The words “the Lord said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. It is clear that the words of vv. 3-4 are spoken by the Lord, in contrast to vv. 1-2, which are spoken by the psalmist.

[89:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “forever I will establish your offspring.”

[89:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “and I will build to a generation and a generation your throne.”

[89:5]  ¹⁰ tn As the following context makes clear, the personified “heavens” here stand by metonymy for the angelic beings that surround God’s heavenly throne.

[89:5]  ¹¹ 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).

[9:4]  ¹² tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 7, 9, 15, 16, and 19 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[9:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[7:19]  ¹⁴ tn The verb יָשׁוּב (yashuv, “he will return”) is here used adverbially in relation to the following verb, indicating that the Lord will again show mercy.

[7:19]  ¹⁵ tn Some prefer to read יִכְבֹּס (yikhbos, “he will cleanse”; see HALOT 459 s.v. כבס pi). If the MT is taken as it stands, sin is personified as an enemy that the Lord subdues.

[7:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “their sins,” but the final mem (ם) may be enclitic rather than a pronominal suffix. In this case the suffix from the preceding line (“our”) may be understood as doing double duty.

[7:19]  ¹⁷ sn In this metaphor the Lord disposes of Israel’s sins by throwing them into the waters of the sea (here symbolic of chaos).

[7:20]  ¹⁸ tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.

[7:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.

[7:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”

[1:72]  ²¹ tn The words “He has done this” (referring to the raising up of the horn of salvation from David’s house) are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to allow a new sentence to be started in the translation. The Greek sentence is lengthy and complex at this point, while contemporary English uses much shorter sentences.

[1:72]  ²² sn Mercy refers to God’s loyal love (steadfast love) by which he completes his promises. See Luke 1:50.

[1:72]  ²³ tn Or “our forefathers”; Grk “our fathers.” This begins with the promise to Abraham (vv. 55, 73), and thus refers to many generations of ancestors.

[1:72]  ²⁴ sn The promises of God can be summarized as being found in the one promise (the oath that he swore) to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3).