Mazmur 78:38

78:38 Yet he is compassionate.

He forgives sin and does not destroy.

He often holds back his anger,

and does not stir up his fury. ¹ 

Mazmur 78:57

78:57 They were unfaithful ²  and acted as treacherously as ³  their ancestors;

they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow. ⁴ 

Mazmur 103:17

103:17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers, ⁵ 

and is faithful to their descendants, ⁶ 

Mazmur 105:7-10

105:7 He is the Lord our God;

he carries out judgment throughout the earth. ⁷ 

105:8 He always remembers his covenantal decree,

the promise he made ⁸  to a thousand generations –

105:9 the promise ⁹  he made to Abraham,

the promise he made by oath to Isaac!

105:10 He gave it to Jacob as a decree,

to Israel as a lasting promise, ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 40:28-31

40:28 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is an eternal God,

the creator of the whole earth. ¹¹ 

He does not get tired or weary;

there is no limit to his wisdom. ¹² 

40:29 He gives strength to those who are tired;

to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.

40:30 Even youths get tired and weary;

even strong young men clumsily stumble. ¹³ 

40:31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help ¹⁴  find renewed strength;

they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, ¹⁵ 

they run without growing weary,

they walk without getting tired.

Ratapan 3:22-23

ח (Khet)

3:22 The Lord’s loyal kindness ¹⁶  never ceases; ¹⁷ 

his compassions ¹⁸  never end.

3:23 They are fresh ¹⁹  every morning;

your faithfulness is abundant! ²⁰ 

Roma 5:10

5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life?

Roma 8:28-32

8:28 And we know that all things work together ²¹  for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, 8:29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son ²²  would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ²³  8:30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 8:32 Indeed, he who ²⁴  did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things?

Roma 11:28-29

11:28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers. 11:29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

Filipi 1:6

1:6 For I am sure of this very thing, ²⁵  that the one ²⁶  who began a good work in ²⁷  you will perfect it ²⁸  until the day of Christ Jesus.

Filipi 1:2

1:2 Grace and peace to you ²⁹  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Filipi 2:13-14

2:13 for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God. 2:14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing,

[78:38]  ¹ tn One could translate v. 38 in the past tense (“he was compassionate…forgave sin and did not destroy…held back his anger, and did not stir up his fury”), but the imperfect verbal forms are probably best understood as generalizing. Verse 38 steps back briefly from the narrational summary of Israel’s history and lays the theological basis for v. 39, which focuses on God’s mercy toward sinful Israel.

[78:57]  ² tn Heb “they turned back.”

[78:57]  ³ tn Or “acted treacherously like.”

[78:57]  ⁴ tn Heb “they turned aside like a deceitful bow.”

[103:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “but the loyal love of the Lord [is] from everlasting to everlasting over those who fear him.”

[103:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “and his righteousness to sons of sons.”

[105:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “in all the earth [are] his judgments.”

[105:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “[the] word he commanded.” The text refers here to God’s unconditional covenantal promise to Abraham and the patriarchs, as vv. 10-12 make clear.

[105:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “which.”

[105:10]  ¹⁰ tn Or “eternal covenant.”

[40:28]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the ends of the earth,” but this is a merism, where the earth’s extremities stand for its entirety, i.e., the extremities and everything in between them.

[40:28]  ¹² sn Exiled Israel’s complaint (v. 27) implies that God might be limited in some way. Perhaps he, like so many of the pagan gods, has died. Or perhaps his jurisdiction is limited to Judah and does not include Babylon. Maybe he is unable to devise an adequate plan to rescue his people, or is unable to execute it. But v. 28 affirms that he is not limited temporally or spatially nor is his power and wisdom restricted in any way. He can and will deliver his people, if they respond in hopeful faith (v. 31a).

[40:30]  ¹³ tn Heb “stumbling they stumble.” The verbal idea is emphasized by the infinitive absolute.

[40:31]  ¹⁴ tn The words “for the Lord’s help” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[40:31]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they rise up [on] wings like eagles” (TEV similar).

[3:22]  ¹⁶ tn It is difficult to capture the nuances of the Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed). When used of the Lord it is often connected to his covenant loyalty. This is the only occasion when the plural form of חֶסֶד (khesed) precedes the plural form of רַחֲמִים (rakhamim, “mercy, compassion”). The plural forms, as with this one, tend to be in late texts. The plural may indicate several concrete expressions of God’s kindnesses or may indicate the abstract concept of his kindness.

[3:22]  ¹⁷ tc The MT reads תָמְנוּ (tamnu) “indeed we are [not] cut off,” Qal perfect 1st person common plural from תָּמַם (tamam, “be finished”): “[Because of] the kindnesses of the Lord, we are not cut off.” However, the ancient versions (LXX, Syriac Peshitta, Aramaic Targum) and many medieval Hebrew mss preserve the alternate reading תָּמּוּ (tammu), Qal perfect 3rd person common plural from תָּמַם (tamam, “to be finished”): “The kindnesses of the Lord never cease.” The external evidence favors the alternate reading. The internal evidence supports this as well, as the parallel B-line suggests: “his compassions never come to an end.” Several English versions follow the MT: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed” (KJV, NKJV), “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed” (NIV). Other English versions follow the alternate textual tradition: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases” (RSV, NRSV), “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease” (NASB), “The kindness of the Lord has not ended” (NJPS) and “The Lord’s unfailing love still continues” (TEV).

[3:22]  ¹⁸ tn The plural form of רַחֲמִים (rakhamim) may denote the abstract concept of mercy, several concrete expressions of mercy, or the plural of intensity: “great compassion.” See IBHS 122 §7.4.3a.

[3:23]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they are new.”

[3:23]  ²⁰ tn The adjective רַב (rav) has a broad range of meanings: (1) quantitative: “much, numerous, many (with plurals), abundant, enough, exceedingly” and (2) less often in a qualitative sense: “great” (a) of space and location, (b) “strong” as opposed to “weak” and (c) “major.” The traditional translation, “great is thy faithfulness,” is less likely than the quantitative sense: “your faithfulness is abundant” [or, “plentiful”]. NJPS is on target in its translation: “Ample is your grace!”

[8:28]  ²¹ tc ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) is found after the verb συνεργεῖ (sunergei, “work”) in v. 28 by Ì⁴⁶ A B 81 sa; the shorter reading is found in א C D F G Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï latt sy bo. Although the inclusion is supported by a significant early papyrus, the alliance of significant Alexandrian and Western witnesses favors the shorter reading. As well, the longer reading is evidently motivated by a need for clarification. Since ὁ θεός is textually suspect, it is better to read the text without it. This leaves two good translational options: either “he works all things together for good” or “all things work together for good.” In the first instance the subject is embedded in the verb and “God” is clearly implied (as in v. 29). In the second instance, πάντα (panta) becomes the subject of an intransitive verb. In either case, “What is expressed is a truly biblical confidence in the sovereignty of God” (C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:427).

[8:29]  ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (God’s Son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:29]  ²³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[8:32]  ²⁴ tn Grk “[he] who.” The relative clause continues the question of v. 31 in a way that is awkward in English. The force of v. 32 is thus: “who indeed did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – How will he not also with him give us all things?”

[1:6]  ²⁵ tn Grk “since I am sure of this very thing.” The verse begins with an adverbial participle that is dependent on the main verb in v. 3 (“I thank”). Paul here gives one reason for his thankfulness.

[1:6]  ²⁶ tn The referent is clearly God from the overall context of the paragraph and the mention of “the day of Christ Jesus” at the end, which would be redundant if Christ were referred to here.

[1:6]  ²⁷ tn Or “among.”

[1:6]  ²⁸ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[1:2]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”