Psalms 45:6-7

45:6 Your throne, ¹  O God, is permanent. ² 

The scepter ³  of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.

45:7 You love ⁴  justice and hate evil. ⁵ 

For this reason God, your God ⁶  has anointed you ⁷ 

with the oil of joy, ⁸  elevating you above your companions. ⁹ 

Psalms 97:2

97:2 Dark clouds surround him;

equity and justice are the foundation of his throne. ¹⁰ 

Psalms 99:4

99:4 The king is strong;

he loves justice. ¹¹ 

You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly; ¹² 

you promote justice and equity in Jacob.

Psalms 145:17

145:17 The Lord is just in all his actions, ¹³ 

and exhibits love in all he does. ¹⁴ 

Deuteronomy 32:4

32:4 As for the Rock, ¹⁵  his work is perfect,

for all his ways are just.

He is a reliable God who is never unjust,

he is fair ¹⁶  and upright.

Revelation 15:3

15:3 They ¹⁷  sang the song of Moses the servant ¹⁸  of God and the song of the Lamb: ¹⁹ 

“Great and astounding are your deeds,

Lord God, the All-Powerful! ²⁰ 

Just ²¹  and true are your ways,

King over the nations! ²² 

[45:6]  ¹ sn The king’s throne here symbolizes his rule.

[45:6]  ² tn Or “forever and ever.”

[45:6]  ³ sn The king’s scepter symbolizes his royal authority.

[45:7]  ⁴ sn To love justice means to actively promote it.

[45:7]  ⁵ sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.

[45:7]  ⁶ tn For other examples of the repetition of Elohim, “God,” see Pss 43:4; 48:8, 14; 50:7; 51:14; 67:7. Because the name Yahweh (“Lord”) is relatively rare in Pss 42-83, where the name Elohim (“God”) predominates, this compounding of Elohim may be an alternative form of the compound name “the Lord my/your/our God.”

[45:7]  ⁷ sn Anointed you. When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.

[45:7]  ⁸ sn The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3, where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.

[45:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “from your companions.” The “companions” are most naturally understood as others in the royal family or, more generally, as the king’s countrymen.

[97:2]  ¹⁰ sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.

[99:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and strength, a king, justice he loves.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult here. The translation assumes that two affirmations are made about the king, the Lord (see v. 1, and Ps 98:6). The noun עֹז (’oz, “strength”) should probably be revocalized as the adjective עַז (’az, “strong”).

[99:4]  ¹² tn Heb “you establish fairness.”

[145:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “in all his ways.”

[145:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and [is] loving in all his deeds.”

[32:4]  ¹⁵ tc The LXX reads Θεός (qeos, “God”) for the MT’s “Rock.”

[32:4]  ¹⁶ tn Or “just” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) or “righteous” (NASB).

[15:3]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[15:3]  ¹⁸ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[15:3]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:3]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

[15:3]  ²² 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.