Psalms 119:152

119:152 I learned long ago that

you ordained your rules to last. ¹ 

Psalms 119:160

119:160 Your instructions are totally reliable;

all your just regulations endure. ² 

Psalms 89:2

89:2 For I say, “Loyal love is permanently established; ³ 

in the skies you set up your faithfulness.” ⁴ 

Matthew 5:18

5:18 I ⁵  tell you the truth, ⁶  until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter ⁷  will pass from the law until everything takes place.

Matthew 24:34-35

24:34 I tell you the truth, ⁸  this generation ⁹  will not pass away until all these things take place. 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ¹⁰ 

Matthew 24:1

The Destruction of the Temple

24:1 Now ¹¹  as Jesus was going out of the temple courts and walking away, his disciples came to show him the temple buildings. ¹² 

Matthew 1:25

1:25 but did not have marital relations ¹³  with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named ¹⁴  Jesus.

Matthew 1:2

1:2 Abraham was the father ¹⁵  of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

Matthew 3:13

The Baptism of Jesus

3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan River. ¹⁶ 

[119:152]  ¹ tn Heb “long ago I knew concerning your rules, that forever you established them.” See v. 89 for the same idea. The translation assumes that the preposition מִן (min) prefixed to “your rules” introduces the object of the verb יָדַע (yada’), as in 1 Sam 23:23. Another option is that the preposition indicates source, in which case one might translate, “Long ago I realized from your rules that forever you established them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[119:160]  ² tn Heb “the head of your word is truth, and forever [is] all your just regulation.” The term “head” is used here of the “sum total” of God’s instructions.

[89:2]  ³ tn Heb “built.”

[89:2]  ⁴ sn You set up your faithfulness. This may allude to the Lord’s heavenly throne, which symbolizes his just rule and from which the Lord decrees his unconditional promises (see vv. 8, 14).

[5:18]  ⁵ tn Grk “For I tell.” Here an explanatory γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[5:18]  ⁶ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[5:18]  ⁷ tn Grk “Not one iota or one serif.”

[24:34]  ⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[24:34]  ⁹ sn This is one of the hardest verses in the gospels to interpret. Various views exist for what generation means. (1) Some take it as meaning “race” and thus as an assurance that the Jewish race (nation) will not pass away. But it is very questionable that the Greek term γενεά (genea) can have this meaning. Two other options are possible. (2) Generation might mean “this type of generation” and refer to the generation of wicked humanity. Then the point is that humanity will not perish, because God will redeem it. Or (3) generation may refer to “the generation that sees the signs of the end” (v. 30), who will also see the end itself. In other words, once the movement to the return of Christ starts, all the events connected with it happen very quickly, in rapid succession.

[24:35]  ¹⁰ sn The words that Jesus predicts here will never pass away. They are more stable and lasting than creation itself. For this kind of image, see Isa 40:8; 55:10-11.

[24:1]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[24:1]  ¹² sn The Jerusalem temple was widely admired around the world. See Josephus, Ant. 15.11 [15.380-425]; J. W. 5.5 [5.184-227] and Tacitus, History 5.8, who called it “immensely opulent.” Josephus compared it to a beautiful snowcapped mountain.

[1:25]  ¹³ tn Or “did not have sexual relations”; Grk “was not knowing her.” The verb “know” (in both Hebrew and Greek) is a frequent biblical euphemism for sexual relations. However, a translation like “did not have sexual relations with her” is too graphic in light of the popularity and wide use of Matthew’s infancy narrative. Thus the somewhat more subdued but still clear “did not have marital relations” was selected.

[1:25]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and he called his name Jesus.” The coordinate clause has been translated as a relative clause in English for stylistic reasons.

[1:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “fathered.”

[3:13]  ¹⁶ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.