Psalms 11:7

11:7 Certainly ¹  the Lord is just; ² 

he rewards godly deeds; ³ 

the upright will experience his favor. ⁴ 

Psalms 45:7

45:7 You love ⁵  justice and hate evil. ⁶ 

For this reason God, your God ⁷  has anointed you ⁸ 

with the oil of joy, ⁹  elevating you above your companions. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 99:4

99:4 The king is strong;

he loves justice. ¹¹ 

You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly; ¹² 

you promote justice and equity in Jacob.

Psalms 145:17

145:17 The Lord is just in all his actions, ¹³ 

and exhibits love in all he does. ¹⁴ 

Revelation 19:2

19:2 because his judgments are true and just. ¹⁵ 

For he has judged ¹⁶  the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,

and has avenged the blood of his servants ¹⁷  poured out by her own hands!” ¹⁸ 

Revelation 19:11

The Son of God Goes to War

19:11 Then ¹⁹  I saw heaven opened and here came ²⁰  a white horse! The ²¹  one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice ²²  he judges and goes to war.

[11:7]  ¹ tn Or “for.”

[11:7]  ² tn Or “righteous.”

[11:7]  ³ tn Heb “he loves righteous deeds.” The “righteous deeds” are probably those done by godly people (see v. 5). The Lord “loves” such deeds in the sense that he rewards them. Another option is to take צְדָקוֹת (tsÿdaqot) as referring to God’s acts of justice (see Ps 103:6). In this case one could translate, “he loves to do just deeds.”

[11:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “the upright will see his face.” The singular subject (“upright”) does not agree with the plural verb. However, collective singular nouns can be construed with a plural predicate (see GKC 462 §145.b). Another possibility is that the plural verb יֶחֱזוּ (yekhezu) is a corruption of an original singular form. To “see” God’s “face” means to have access to his presence and to experience his favor (see Ps 17:15 and Job 33:26 [where רָאָה (ra’ah), not חָזָה (khazah), is used]). On the form פָנֵימוֹ (fanemo, “his face”) see GKC 300-301 §103.b, n. 3.

[45:7]  ⁵ sn To love justice means to actively promote it.

[45:7]  ⁶ sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.

[45:7]  ⁷ tn For other examples of the repetition of Elohim, “God,” see Pss 43:4; 48:8, 14; 50:7; 51:14; 67:7. Because the name Yahweh (“Lord”) is relatively rare in Pss 42-83, where the name Elohim (“God”) predominates, this compounding of Elohim may be an alternative form of the compound name “the Lord my/your/our God.”

[45:7]  ⁸ sn Anointed you. When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.

[45:7]  ⁹ sn The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3, where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.

[45:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from your companions.” The “companions” are most naturally understood as others in the royal family or, more generally, as the king’s countrymen.

[99:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and strength, a king, justice he loves.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation assumes that two affirmations are made about the king, the Lord (see v. 1, and Ps 98:6). The noun עֹז (’oz, “strength”) should probably be revocalized as the adjective עַז (’az, “strong”).

[99:4]  ¹² tn Heb “you establish fairness.”

[145:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “in all his ways.”

[145:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and [is] loving in all his deeds.”

[19:2]  ¹⁵ tn Compare the similar phrase in Rev 16:7.

[19:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or “has punished.” See BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α, describing the OT background which involves both the vindication of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty.

[19:2]  ¹⁷ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “from her hand” (referring to her responsibility in causing the blood of God’s followers to be shed).

[19:11]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:11]  ²⁰ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[19:11]  ²¹ tn A new sentence was started in the translation at this point and καί (kai) was not translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:11]  ²² tn Or “in righteousness,” but since the context here involves the punishment of the wicked and the vindication of the saints, “justice” was preferred.