Psalms 4:6

4:6 Many say, “Who can show us anything good?”

Smile upon us, Lord! ¹ 

Psalms 44:3

44:3 For they did not conquer ²  the land by their swords,

and they did not prevail by their strength, ³ 

but rather by your power, ⁴  strength ⁵  and good favor, ⁶ 

for you were partial to ⁷  them.

Numbers 6:26

6:26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon you ⁸ 

and give you peace.”’

Job 29:3

29:3 when ⁹  he caused ¹⁰  his lamp ¹¹ 

to shine upon my head,

and by his light

I walked ¹²  through darkness; ¹³ 

Proverbs 16:15

16:15 In the light of the king’s face ¹⁴  there is life,

and his favor is like the clouds ¹⁵  of the spring rain. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 2:5

2:5 O descendants ¹⁷  of Jacob,

come, let us walk in the Lord’s guiding light. ¹⁸ 

John 14:21-23

14:21 The person who has my commandments and obeys ¹⁹  them is the one who loves me. ²⁰  The one ²¹  who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal ²²  myself to him.”

14:22 “Lord,” Judas (not Judas Iscariot) ²³  said, ²⁴  “what has happened that you are going to reveal ²⁵  yourself to us and not to the world?” 14:23 Jesus replied, ²⁶  “If anyone loves me, he will obey ²⁷  my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him. ²⁸ 

Acts 2:28

2:28 You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will make me full of joy with your presence.’ ²⁹ 

Revelation 21:23

21:23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God lights it up, and its lamp is the Lamb.

[4:6]  ¹ tn Heb “lift up upon us the light of your face, Lord.” The verb נסה is apparently an alternate form of נשׂא, “lift up.” See GKC 217 §76.b. The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 31:16; 44:3; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[44:3]  ² tn Or “take possession of.”

[44:3]  ³ tn Heb “and their arm did not save them.” The “arm” here symbolizes military strength.

[44:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “your right hand.” The Lord’s “right hand” here symbolizes his power to protect and deliver (see Pss 17:7; 20:6; 21:8).

[44:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “your arm.”

[44:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “light of your face.” The idiom “light of your face” probably refers to a smile (see Eccl 8:1), which in turn suggests favor and blessing (see Num 6:25; Pss 4:6; 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19; 89:15; Dan 9:17).

[44:3]  ⁷ tn Or “favorable toward.”

[6:26]  ⁸ tn The last line of the blessing also has first the image and then the parallel interpretation – for God to lift up his face is for God to give peace. The idea of the fallen face is one of anger (see Gen 4:6,7); and the idea of the hidden face is that of withholding support, favor, or peace (see Deut 31:18; Ps 30:8; Ps 44:25). If God lifts his face toward his people, it means he has given them peace – peace, prosperity, completeness, health, safety, general well-being, and the like.

[29:3]  ⁹ tn This clause is in apposition to the preceding (see GKC 426 §131.o). It offers a clarification.

[29:3]  ¹⁰ tn The form בְּהִלּוֹ (bÿhillo) is unusual; it should be parsed as a Hiphil infinitive construct with the elision of the ה (he). The proper spelling would have been with a ַ (patakh) under the preposition, reflecting הַהִלּוֹ (hahillo). If it were Qal, it would just mean “when his light shone.”

[29:3]  ¹¹ sn Lamp and light are symbols of God’s blessings of life and all the prosperous and good things it includes.

[29:3]  ¹² tn Here too the imperfect verb is customary – it describes action that was continuous, but in a past time.

[29:3]  ¹³ tn The accusative (“darkness”) is here an adverbial accusative of place, namely, “in the darkness,” or because he was successfully led by God’s light, “through the darkness” (see GKC 374 §118.h).

[16:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the light of the face of the king.” This expression is a way of describing the king’s brightened face, his delight in what is taking place. This would mean life for those around him.

[16:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “cloud.”

[16:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “latter rain” (so KJV, ASV). The favor that this expression represents is now compared to the cloud of rain that comes with the “latter” rain or harvest rain. The point is that the rain cloud was necessary for the successful harvest; likewise the king’s pleasure will ensure the success and the productivity of the people under him. E.g., also Psalm 72:15-17; the prosperity of the land is portrayed as a blessing on account of the ideal king.

[2:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “house,” referring to the family line or descendants (likewise in v. 6).

[2:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “let’s walk in the light of the Lord.” In this context, which speaks of the Lord’s instruction and commands, the “light of the Lord” refers to his moral standards by which he seeks to guide his people. One could paraphrase, “let’s obey the Lord’s commands.”

[14:21]  ¹⁹ tn Or “keeps.”

[14:21]  ²⁰ tn Grk “obeys them, that one is the one who loves me.”

[14:21]  ²¹ tn Grk “And the one.” Here the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated to improve the English style.

[14:21]  ²² tn Or “will disclose.”

[14:22]  ²³ tn Grk “(not Iscariot).” The proper noun (Judas) has been repeated for clarity and smoothness in English style.

[14:22]  ²⁴ tn Grk “said to him.”

[14:22]  ²⁵ tn Or “disclose.”

[14:23]  ²⁶ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[14:23]  ²⁷ tn Or “will keep.”

[14:23]  ²⁸ tn Grk “we will come to him and will make our dwelling place with him.” The context here is individual rather than corporate indwelling, so the masculine singular pronoun has been retained throughout v. 23. It is important to note, however, that the pronoun is used generically here and refers equally to men, women, and children.

[2:28]  ²⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 16:8-11.