Psalms 112:1

Psalm 112 ¹ 

112:1 Praise the Lord!

How blessed is the one ²  who obeys ³  the Lord,

who takes great delight in keeping his commands. ⁴ 

Psalms 119:16

119:16 I find delight ⁵  in your statutes;

I do not forget your instructions. ⁶ 

Psalms 119:24

119:24 Yes, I find delight in your rules;

they give me guidance. ⁷ 

Psalms 119:47

119:47 I will find delight in your commands,

which I love.

Psalms 119:92

119:92 If I had not found encouragement in your law, ⁸ 

I would have died in my sorrow. ⁹ 

Job 23:12

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. ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 15:16

15:16 As your words came to me I drank them in, ¹¹ 

and they filled my heart with joy and happiness

because I belong to you. ¹² 

John 4:34

4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me ¹³  and to complete ¹⁴  his work. ¹⁵ 

Romans 7:22

7:22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being.

Romans 8:29

8:29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son ¹⁶  would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ 

[112:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 112. This wisdom psalm lists some of the benefits of living a godly life. The psalm is an acrostic. After the introductory call to praise, every poetic line (twenty-two in all) begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[112:1]  ² tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The individual is representative of a larger group, called the “godly” in vv. 3-4. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender specific “man” with the more neutral “one.” The generic masculine pronoun is used in the following verses.

[112:1]  ³ tn Heb “fears.”

[112:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “in his commands he delights very much.” The words “in keeping” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Taking delight in the law is metonymic here for obeying God’s moral will. See Ps 1:2.

[119:16]  ⁵ tn The imperfects in this verse emphasize the attitude the psalmist maintains toward God’s law. Another option is to translate with the future tense, “I will find delight…I will not forget.”

[119:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX read the plural here.

[119:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “men of my counsel.” That is, God’s rules are like advisers to the psalmist, for they teach him how to live in a godly manner that refutes the accusations of his enemies.

[119:92]  ⁸ tn Heb “if your law had not been my delight.”

[119:92]  ⁹ tn Or “my suffering.”

[23:12]  ¹⁰ 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”).

[15:16]  ¹¹ sn Heb “Your words were found and I ate them.” This along with Ezek 2:8–3:3 is a poetic picture of inspiration. The prophet accepted them, assimilated them, and made them such a part of himself that he spoke with complete assurance what he knew were God’s words.

[15:16]  ¹² tn Heb “Your name is called upon me.”

[4:34]  ¹³ sn The one who sent me refers to the Father.

[4:34]  ¹⁴ tn Or “to accomplish.”

[4:34]  ¹⁵ tn The substantival ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as an English infinitive clause.

[8:29]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God’s Son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:29]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.