Isaiah 64:4-5

64:4 Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived, ¹ 

no eye has seen any God besides you,

who intervenes for those who wait for him.

64:5 You assist ²  those who delight in doing what is right, ³ 

who observe your commandments. ⁴ 

Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.

How then can we be saved? ⁵ 

Numbers 36:13

36:13 These are the commandments and the decisions that the Lord commanded the Israelites through the authority ⁶  of Moses, on the plains of Moab by the Jordan River ⁷  opposite Jericho. ⁸ 

Job 23:10-12

23:10 But he knows the pathway that I take; ⁹ 

if he tested me, I would come forth like gold. ¹⁰ 

23:11 My feet ¹¹  have followed ¹²  his steps closely;

I have kept to his way and have not turned aside. ¹³ 

23:12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 18:23

18:23 I was innocent before him,

and kept myself from sinning. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 44:17-18

44:17 All this has happened to us, even though we have not rejected you ¹⁶ 

or violated your covenant with us. ¹⁷ 

44:18 We have not been unfaithful, ¹⁸ 

nor have we disobeyed your commands. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 65:6

65:6 You created the mountains by your power, ²⁰ 

and demonstrated your strength. ²¹ 

Psalms 106:3

106:3 How blessed are those who promote justice,

and do what is right all the time!

Malachi 4:4

Restoration through the Lord

4:4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, to whom at Horeb ²²  I gave rules and regulations for all Israel to obey. ²³ 

Luke 1:6

1:6 They ²⁴  were both righteous in the sight of God, following ²⁵  all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. ²⁶ 

[64:4]  ¹ tn Heb “from ancient times they have not heard, they have not listened.”

[64:5]  ² tn Heb “meet [with kindness].”

[64:5]  ³ tn Heb “the one who rejoices and does righteousness.”

[64:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “in your ways they remember you.”

[64:5]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “look, you were angry and we sinned against them continually [or perhaps, “in ancient times”] and we were delivered.” The statement makes little sense as it stands. The first vav [ו] consecutive (“and we sinned”) must introduce an explanatory clause here (see Num 1:48 and Isa 39:1 for other examples of this relatively rare use of the vav [ו] consecutive). The final verb (if rendered positively) makes no sense in this context – God’s anger at their sin resulted in judgment, not deliverance. One of the alternatives involves an emendation to וַנִּרְשָׁע (vannirsha’, “and we were evil”; LXX, NRSV, TEV). The Vulgate and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a support the MT reading. One can either accept an emendation or cast the statement as a question (as above).

[36:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “by the hand.”

[36:13]  ⁷ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[36:13]  ⁸ map For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[23:10]  ⁹ tn The expression דֶּרֶךְ עִמָּדִי (derekh ’immadi) means “the way with me,” i.e., “the way that I take.” The Syriac has “my way and my standing.” Several commentators prefer “the way of my standing,” meaning where to look for me. J. Reider offers “the way of my life” (“Some notes to the text of the scriptures,” HUCA 3 [1926]: 115). Whatever the precise wording, Job knows that God can always find him.

[23:10]  ¹⁰ tn There is a perfect verb followed by an imperfect in this clause with the protasis and apodosis relationship (see GKC 493 §159.b).

[23:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my foot.”

[23:11]  ¹² tn Heb “held fast.”

[23:11]  ¹³ tn The last clause, “and I have not turned aside,” functions adverbially in the sentence. The form אָט (’at) is a pausal form of אַתֶּה (’atteh), the Hiphil of נָטָה (natah, “stretch out”).

[23:12]  ¹⁴ tc The form in the MT (מֵחֻקִּי, mekhuqqi) means “more than my portion” or “more than my law.” An expanded meaning results in “more than my necessary food” (see Ps 119:11; cf. KJV, NASB, ESV). HALOT 346 s.v. חֹק 1 indicates that חֹק (khoq) has the meaning of “portion” and is here a reference to “what is appointed for me.” The LXX and the Latin versions, along with many commentators, have בְּחֵקִי (bÿkheqi, “in my bosom”).

[18:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from my sin,” that is, from making it my own in any way.

[44:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “we have not forgotten you.” To “forget” God refers here to worshiping false gods and thereby refusing to recognize his sovereignty (see v. 20, as well as Deut 8:19; Judg 3:7; 1 Sam 12:9; Isa 17:10; Jer 3:21; Ps 9:17).Thus the translation “we have not rejected you” has been used.

[44:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and we did not deal falsely with your covenant.”

[44:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “our heart did not turn backward.” Cf. Ps 78:57.

[44:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and our steps did [not] turn aside from your path.” The negative particle is understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line). God’s “path” refers to his commands, i.e., the moral pathway he has prescribed for the psalmist. See Pss 17:5; 25:4.

[65:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “[the] one who establishes [the] mountains by his power.”

[65:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “one [who] is girded with strength”; or “one [who] girds himself with strength.”

[4:4]  ²² sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (cf. Exod 3:1).

[4:4]  ²³ tn Heb “which I commanded him in Horeb concerning all Israel, statutes and ordinances.”

[1:6]  ²⁴ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[1:6]  ²⁵ tn Grk “walking in” (an idiom for one’s lifestyle).

[1:6]  ²⁶ tn The predicate adjective has the effect of an adverb here (BDF §243).