Psalms 89:23-24

89:23 I will crush his enemies before him;

I will strike down those who hate him.

89:24 He will experience my faithfulness and loyal love, ¹ 

and by my name he will win victories. ² 

Psalms 138:2

138:2 I will bow down toward your holy temple,

and give thanks to your name,

because of your loyal love and faithfulness,

for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky. ³ 

Genesis 15:1

The Cutting of the Covenant

15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield ⁴  and the one who will reward you in great abundance.” ⁵ 

Isaiah 43:1-2

The Lord Will Rescue His People

43:1 Now, this is what the Lord says,

the one who created you, O Jacob,

and formed you, O Israel:

“Don’t be afraid, for I will protect ⁶  you.

I call you by name, you are mine.

43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;

when you pass ⁷  through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

the flames will not harm ⁸  you.

Mark 13:31

13:31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ⁹ 

Titus 1:2

1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. ¹⁰ 

Hebrews 6:17-18

6:17 In the same way ¹¹  God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, ¹²  and so he intervened with an oath, 6:18 so that we who have found refuge in him ¹³  may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie.

[89:24]  ¹ tn Heb “and my faithfulness and my loyal love [will be] with him.”

[89:24]  ² tn Heb “and by my name his horn will be lifted up.” The horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt/lift up the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 75:10; 92:10; Lam 2:17).

[138:2]  ³ tc The MT reads, “for you have made great over all your name your word.” If retained, this must mean that God's mighty intervention, in fulfillment of his word of promise, surpassed anything he had done prior to this. However, the statement is odd and several emendations have been proposed. Some read, “for you have exalted over everything your name and your word,” while others suggest, “for you have exalted over all the heavens your name and your word.” The translation assumes an emendation of “your name” to “your heavens” (a construction that appears in Pss 8:3 and 144:5). The point is that God has been faithful to his promise and the reliability of that promise is apparent to all. For a fuller discussion of these options, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 244.

[15:1]  ⁴ sn The noun “shield” recalls the words of Melchizedek in 14:20. If God is the shield, then God will deliver. Abram need not fear reprisals from those he has fought.

[15:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “your reward [in] great abundance.” When the phrase הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ (harbeh mÿod) follows a noun it invariably modifies the noun and carries the nuance “very great” or “in great abundance.” (See its use in Gen 41:49; Deut 3:5; Josh 22:8; 2 Sam 8:8; 12:2; 1 Kgs 4:29; 10:10-11; 2 Chr 14:13; 32:27; Jer 40:12.) Here the noun “reward” is in apposition to “shield” and refers by metonymy to God as the source of the reward. Some translate here “your reward will be very great” (cf. NASB, NRSV), taking the statement as an independent clause and understanding the Hiphil infinitive absolute as a substitute for a finite verb. However, the construction הַרְבּה מְאֹדֵ is never used this way elsewhere, where it either modifies a noun (see the texts listed above) or serves as an adverb in relation to a finite verb (see Josh 13:1; 1 Sam 26:21; 2 Sam 12:30; 2 Kgs 21:16; 1 Chr 20:2; Neh 2:2).

[43:1]  ⁶ tn Or “redeem.” See the note at 41:14. Cf. NCV “saved you”; CEV “rescued you”; NLT “ransomed you.”

[43:2]  ⁷ tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[43:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “burn” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV, NLT “consume”; NIV “set you ablaze.”

[13:31]  ⁹ sn The words that Jesus predicts here will never pass away. They are more stable and lasting than creation itself! For this kind of image, see Isa 40:8; 55:10-11.

[1:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “before eternal ages.”

[6:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in which.”

[6:17]  ¹² tn Or “immutable” (here and in v. 18); Grk “the unchangeableness of his purpose.”

[6:18]  ¹³ tn Grk “have taken refuge”; the basis of that refuge is implied in the preceding verse.