Psalms 19:7

19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect

and preserves one’s life. ¹ 

The rules set down by the Lord ²  are reliable ³ 

and impart wisdom to the inexperienced. ⁴ 

Psalms 25:10

25:10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable ⁵ 

to those who follow the demands of his covenant. ⁶ 

Deuteronomy 32:4

32:4 As for the Rock, ⁷  his work is perfect,

for all his ways are just.

He is a reliable God who is never unjust,

he is fair ⁸  and upright.

Deuteronomy 32:2

32:2 My teaching will drop like the rain,

my sayings will drip like the dew, ⁹ 

as rain drops upon the grass,

and showers upon new growth.

Deuteronomy 22:1

Laws Concerning Preservation of Life

22:1 When you see ¹⁰  your neighbor’s ¹¹  ox or sheep going astray, do not ignore it; ¹²  you must return it without fail ¹³  to your neighbor.

Daniel 4:37

4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all his deeds are right and his ways are just. He is able to bring down those who live ¹⁴  in pride.

Romans 12:2

12:2 Do not be conformed ¹⁵  to this present world, ¹⁶  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ¹⁷  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Revelation 15:3

15:3 They ¹⁸  sang the song of Moses the servant ¹⁹  of God and the song of the Lamb: ²⁰ 

“Great and astounding are your deeds,

Lord God, the All-Powerful! ²¹ 

Just ²²  and true are your ways,

King over the nations! ²³ 

[19:7]  ¹ tn Heb “[it] restores life.” Elsewhere the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) when used with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “life”) as object, means to “rescue or preserve one’s life” (Job 33:30; Ps 35:17) or to “revive one’s strength” (emotionally or physically; cf. Ruth 4:15; Lam 1:11, 16, 19). Here the point seems to be that the law preserves the life of the one who studies it by making known God’s will. Those who know God’s will know how to please him and can avoid offending him. See v. 11a.

[19:7]  ² tn Traditionally, “the testimony of the Lord.” The noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to the demands of God’s covenant law.

[19:7]  ³ tn God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.

[19:7]  ⁴ tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly.

[25:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “all the paths of the Lord are faithful and trustworthy.” The Lord’s “paths” refer here to his characteristic actions.

[25:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the ones who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

[32:4]  ⁷ tc The LXX reads Θεός (qeos, “God”) for the MT’s “Rock.”

[32:4]  ⁸ tn Or “just” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “righteous” (NASB).

[32:2]  ⁹ tn Or “mist,” “light drizzle.” In some contexts the term appears to refer to light rain, rather than dew.

[22:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “you must not see,” but, if translated literally into English, the statement is misleading.

[22:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “brother’s” (also later in this verse). In this context it is not limited to one’s siblings, however; cf. NAB “your kinsman’s.”

[22:1]  ¹² tn Heb “hide yourself.”

[22:1]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with the words “without fail.”

[4:37]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “walk.”

[12:2]  ¹⁵ tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

[12:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “to this age.”

[12:2]  ¹⁷ sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

[15:3]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[15:3]  ¹⁹ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[15:3]  ²⁰ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:3]  ²¹ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

[15:3]  ²² tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

[15:3]  ²³ tc Certain mss (Ì⁴⁷ א*^,2 C 1006 1611 1841 pc) read “ages” (αἰώνων, aiwnwn) instead of “nations” (ἐθνῶν, eqnwn), which itself is supported by several mss (א¹ A 051 Ï). The ms evidence seems to be fairly balanced, though αἰώνων has somewhat better support. The replacement of “ages” with “nations” is possibly a scribal attempt to harmonize this verse with the use of “nations” in the following verse. On the other hand, the idea of “nations” fits well with v. 4 and it may be that “ages” is a scribal attempt to assimilate this text to 1 Tim 1:17: “the king of the ages” (βασιλεὺς τῶν αἰώνων, basileu" twn aiwnwn). The decision is a difficult one since both scenarios deal well with the evidence, though the verbal parallel with 1 Tim 1:17 is exact while the parallel with v. 4 is not. The term “king” occurs 17 other times (most occurrences refer to earthly kings) in Revelation and it is not used with either “ages” or “nations” apart from this verse. Probably the reading “nations” should be considered original due to the influence of 1 Tim 1:17.