Mazmur 119:89

ל (Lamed)

119:89 O Lord, your instructions endure;

they stand secure in heaven. ¹ 

Mazmur 119:152

119:152 I learned long ago that

you ordained your rules to last. ² 

Mazmur 119:160

119:160 Your instructions are totally reliable;

all your just regulations endure. ³ 

Yesaya 40:8

40:8 The grass dries up,

the flowers wither,

but the decree of our God is forever reliable.” ⁴ 

Matius 5:18

5:18 I ⁵  tell you the truth, ⁶  until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter ⁷  will pass from the law until everything takes place.

¹ tn Heb “Forever, O Lord, your word stands firm in heaven,” or “Forever, O Lord, [is] your word; it stands firm in heaven.” The translation assumes that “your word” refers here to the body of divine instructions contained in the law (note the frequent references to the law in vv. 92-96). See vv. 9, 16-17, 57, 101, 105, 130, 139 and 160-61. The reference in v. 86 to God’s law being faithful favors this interpretation. Another option is that “your word” refers to God’s assuring word of promise, mentioned in vv. 25, 28, 42, 65, 74, 81, 107, 114, 147 and 169. In this case one might translate, “O Lord, your promise is reliable, it stands firm in heaven.”

² tn Heb “long ago I knew concerning your rules, that forever you established them.” See v. 89 for the same idea. The translation assumes that the preposition מִן (min) prefixed to “your rules” introduces the object of the verb יָדַע (yada’), as in 1 Sam 23:23. Another option is that the preposition indicates source, in which case one might translate, “Long ago I realized from your rules that forever you established them” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

³ tn Heb “the head of your word is truth, and forever [is] all your just regulation.” The term “head” is used here of the “sum total” of God’s instructions.

⁴ tn Heb “but the word of our God stands forever.” In this context the divine “word” specifically refers to his decreed promise assuring Jerusalem that her suffering is over and his glorious return imminent (vv. 1-5).

⁵ tn Grk “For I tell.” Here an explanatory γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

⁶ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

⁷ tn Grk “Not one iota or one serif.”

sn The smallest letter refers to the smallest Hebrew letter (yod) and the stroke of a letter to a serif (a hook or projection on a Hebrew letter).