Psalms 37:26

37:26 All day long he shows compassion and lends to others, ¹ 

and his children ²  are blessed.

Psalms 69:36

69:36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,

and those who are loyal to him ³  will live in it. ⁴ 

Psalms 112:2

112:2 His descendants ⁵  will be powerful on the earth;

the godly ⁶  will be blessed.

Genesis 17:7-10

17:7 I will confirm ⁷  my covenant as a perpetual ⁸  covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. ⁹  17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing ¹⁰  – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent ¹¹  possession. I will be their God.”

17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep ¹²  the covenantal requirement ¹³  I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: ¹⁴  Every male among you must be circumcised. ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 20:7

20:7 The righteous person ¹⁶  behaves in integrity; ¹⁷ 

blessed are his children after him. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 65:23

65:23 They will not work in vain,

or give birth to children that will experience disaster. ¹⁹ 

For the Lord will bless their children

and their descendants. ²⁰ 

Jeremiah 32:39

32:39 I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for ²¹  their own good and the good of the children who descend from them.

Acts 2:39

2:39 For the promise ²²  is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”

[37:26]  ¹ tn The active participles describe characteristic behavior.

[37:26]  ² tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[69:36]  ³ tn Heb “the lovers of his name.” The phrase refers to those who are loyal to God (cf. v. 35). See Pss 5:11; 119:132; Isa 56:6.

[69:36]  ⁴ sn Verses 35-36 appear to be an addition to the psalm from the time of the exile. The earlier lament reflects an individual’s situation, while these verses seem to reflect a communal application of it.

[112:2]  ⁵ tn Or “offspring”; Heb “seed.”

[112:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “His seed will be mighty on the earth, the generation of the godly.” The Hebrew term דוֹר (dor, “generation”) could be taken as parallel to “offspring” and translated “posterity,” but the singular more likely refers to the godly as a class. See BDB 189-90 s.v. for other examples where “generation” refers to a class of people.

[17:7]  ⁷ tn The verb קוּם (qum, “to arise, to stand up”) in the Hiphil verbal stem means “to confirm, to give effect to, to carry out” (i.e., a covenant or oath; see BDB 878-79 s.v. קוּם).

[17:7]  ⁸ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “to be to you for God and to your descendants after you.”

[17:8]  ¹⁰ tn The verbal root is גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to reside temporarily,” i.e., as a resident alien). It is the land in which Abram resides, but does not yet possess as his very own.

[17:8]  ¹¹ tn Or “as an eternal.”

[17:9]  ¹² tn The imperfect tense could be translated “you shall keep” as a binding command; but the obligatory nuance (“must”) captures the binding sense better.

[17:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “my covenant.” The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bÿrit) can refer to (1) the agreement itself between two parties (see v. 7), (2) the promise made by one party to another (see vv. 2-3, 7), (3) an obligation placed by one party on another, or (4) a reminder of the agreement. In vv. 9-10 the word refers to a covenantal obligation which God gives to Abraham and his descendants.

[17:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “This is my covenant that you must keep between me and you and your descendants after you.”

[17:10]  ¹⁵ sn For a discussion of male circumcision as the sign of the covenant in this passage see M. V. Fox, “The Sign of the Covenant: Circumcision in the Light of the Priestly ‘ot Etiologies,” RB 81 (1974): 557-96.

[20:7]  ¹⁶ sn Two terms describe the subject of this proverb: “righteous” and “integrity.” The first describes the person as a member of the covenant community who strives to live according to God’s standards; the second emphasizes that his lifestyle is blameless.

[20:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “walks in his integrity” (so NASB); cf. NIV “leads a blameless life.” The Hitpael participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) means “to walk about; to walk to and fro.” The idiom of walking representing living is intensified here in this stem. This verbal stem is used in scripture to describe people “walking with” God.

[20:7]  ¹⁸ sn The nature and the actions of parents have an effect on children (e.g., Exod 20:4-6); if the parents are righteous, the children will enjoy a blessing – the respect and the happiness which the parent reflects on them.

[65:23]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and they will not give birth to horror.”

[65:23]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for offspring blessed by the Lord they [will be], and their descendants along with them.”

[32:39]  ²¹ tn Heb “I will give to them one heart and one way to [= in order that they may] fear me all the days for good to them.” The phrase “one heart” refers both to unanimity of will and accord (cf. 1 Chr 12:38 [12:39 HT]; 2 Chr 30:12) and to singleness of purpose or intent (cf. Ezek 11:19 and see BDB 525 s.v. ֵלב 4 where reference is made to “inclinations, resolutions, and determinations of the will”). The phrase “one way” refers to one way of life or conduct (cf. BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a where reference is made to moral action and character), a way of life that is further qualified by the goal of showing “fear, reverence, respect” for the Lord. The Hebrew sentence has been broken up to avoid a long complex sentence in English which is contrary to contemporary English style. However, an attempt has been made to preserve all the connections of the original.

[2:39]  ²² sn The promise refers to the promise of the Holy Spirit that Jesus received from the Father in 2:33 and which he now pours out on others. The promise consists of the Holy Spirit (see note in 2:33). Jesus is the active mediator of God’s blessing.