Psalms 103:11

103:11 For as the skies are high above the earth,

so his loyal love towers ¹  over his faithful followers. ² 

Psalms 103:17

103:17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers, ³ 

and is faithful to their descendants, ⁴ 

Psalms 147:11

147:11 The Lord takes delight in his faithful followers, ⁵ 

and in those who wait for his loyal love.

Malachi 3:16-17

3:16 Then those who respected ⁶  the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice. ⁷  A scroll ⁸  was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected the Lord and honored his name. 3:17 “They will belong to me,” says the Lord who rules over all, “in the day when I prepare my own special property. ⁹  I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Malachi 4:2

4:2 But for you who respect my name, the sun of vindication ¹⁰  will rise with healing wings, ¹¹  and you will skip about ¹²  like calves released from the stall.

Acts 13:26

13:26 Brothers, ¹³  descendants ¹⁴  of Abraham’s family, ¹⁵  and those Gentiles among you who fear God, ¹⁶  the message ¹⁷  of this salvation has been sent to us.

[103:11]  ¹ tn For this sense of the verb גָבַר (gavar), see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 17, 19.

[103:11]  ² tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[103:17]  ³ tn Heb “but the loyal love of the Lord [is] from everlasting to everlasting over those who fear him.”

[103:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “and his righteousness to sons of sons.”

[147:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “those who fear him.”

[3:16]  ⁶ tn Or “fear” (so NAB); NRSV “revered”; NCV “honored.”

[3:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “heard and listened”; NAB “listened attentively.”

[3:16]  ⁸ sn The scroll mentioned here is a “memory book” (סֵפֶר זִכָּרוֹן, sefer zikkaron) in which the Lord keeps an ongoing record of the names of all the redeemed (see Exod 32:32; Isa 4:3; Dan 12:1; Rev 20:12-15).

[3:17]  ⁹ sn The Hebrew word סְגֻלָּה (sÿgullah, “special property”) is a technical term referring to all the recipients of God’s redemptive grace, especially Israel (Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18). The Lord says here that he will not forget even one individual in the day of judgment and reward.

[4:2]  ¹⁰ tn Here the Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah), usually translated “righteousness” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT; cf. NAB “justice”), has been rendered as “vindication” because it is the vindication of God’s people that is in view in the context. Cf. BDB 842 s.v. צְדָקָה 6; “righteousness as vindicated, justification, salvation, etc.”

[4:2]  ¹¹ sn The point of the metaphor of healing wings is unclear. The sun seems to be compared to a bird. Perhaps the sun’s “wings” are its warm rays. “Healing” may refer to a reversal of the injury done by evildoers (see Mal 3:5).

[4:2]  ¹² tn Heb “you will go out and skip about.”

[13:26]  ¹³ tn Grk “Men brothers,” but this is both awkward and unnecessary in English.

[13:26]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “sons”

[13:26]  ¹⁵ tn Or “race.”

[13:26]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and those among you who fear God,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Note how Paul includes God-fearing Gentiles as recipients of this promise.

[13:26]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “word.”