Psalms 89:14

89:14 Equity and justice are the foundation of your throne. ¹ 

Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule. ² 

Psalms 100:5

100:5 For the Lord is good.

His loyal love endures, ³ 

and he is faithful through all generations. ⁴ 

Exodus 34:6-7

34:6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: ⁵  “The Lord, the Lord, ⁶  the compassionate and gracious ⁷  God, slow to anger, ⁸  and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, ⁹  34:7 keeping loyal love for thousands, ¹⁰  forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression ¹¹  of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

Micah 7:20

7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham, ¹² 

which you promised on oath to our ancestors ¹³ 

in ancient times. ¹⁴ 

Luke 1:54-55

1:54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering ¹⁵  his mercy, ¹⁶ 

1:55 as he promised ¹⁷  to our ancestors, ¹⁸  to Abraham and to his descendants ¹⁹  forever.”

John 1:17

1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but ²⁰  grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ.

[89:14]  ¹ sn The Lord’s throne symbolizes his kingship.

[89:14]  ² tn Heb “are in front of your face.” The idiom can mean “confront” (Ps 17:13) or “meet, enter the presence of” (Ps 95:2).

[100:5]  ³ tn Or “is forever.”

[100:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and to a generation and a generation [is] his faithfulness.”

[34:6]  ⁵ tn Here is one of the clearest examples of what it means “to call on the name of the Lord,” as that clause has been translated traditionally (וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יְהוָה, vayyiqra’ vÿshem yÿhvah). It seems more likely that it means “to make proclamation of Yahweh by name.” Yahweh came down and made a proclamation – and the next verses give the content of what he said. This cannot be prayer or praise; it is a proclamation of the nature or attributes of God (which is what his “name” means throughout the Bible). Attempts to make Moses the subject of the verb are awkward, for the verb is repeated in v. 6 with Yahweh clearly doing the proclaiming.

[34:6]  ⁶ sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 439) suggests that these two names be written as a sentence: “Yahweh, He is Yahweh.” In this manner it reflects “I am that I am.” It is impossible to define his name in any other way than to make this affirmation and then show what it means.

[34:6]  ⁷ tn See Exod 33:19.

[34:6]  ⁸ sn This is literally “long of anger.” His anger prolongs itself, allowing for people to repent before punishment is inflicted.

[34:6]  ⁹ sn These two words (“loyal love” and “truth”) are often found together, occasionally in a hendiadys construction. If that is the interpretation here, then it means “faithful covenant love.” Even if they are left separate, they are dual elements of a single quality. The first word is God’s faithful covenant love; the second word is God’s reliability and faithfulness.

[34:7]  ¹⁰ tn That is, “for thousands of generations.”

[34:7]  ¹¹ sn As in the ten commandments (20:5-6), this expression shows that the iniquity and its punishment will continue in the family if left unchecked. This does not go on as long as the outcomes for good (thousands versus third or fourth generations), and it is limited to those who hate God.

[7:20]  ¹² tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.

[7:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.

[7:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”

[1:54]  ¹⁵ tn Or “because he remembered mercy,” understanding the infinitive as causal.

[1:54]  ¹⁶ tn Or “his [God’s] loyal love.”

[1:55]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “as he spoke.” Since this is a reference to the covenant to Abraham, ἐλάλησεν (elalhsen) can be translated in context “as he promised.” God keeps his word.

[1:55]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “fathers.”

[1:55]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “his seed” (an idiom for offspring or descendants).

[1:17]  ²⁰ tn “But” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the implied contrast between the Mosaic law and grace through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 seems to indicate clearly that the Old Covenant (Sinai) was being contrasted with the New. In Jewish sources the Law was regarded as a gift from God (Josephus, Ant. 3.8.10 [3.223]; Pirqe Avot 1.1; Sifre Deut 31:4 §305). Further information can be found in T. F. Glasson, Moses in the Fourth Gospel (SBT).