Mazmur 119:48

119:48 I will lift my hands to ¹  your commands,

which I love,

and I will meditate on your statutes.

Mazmur 119:97

מ (Mem)

119:97 O how I love your law!

All day long I meditate on it.

Mazmur 119:127

119:127 For this reason ²  I love your commands

more than gold, even purest gold.

Mazmur 119:140

119:140 Your word is absolutely pure,

and your servant loves it!

Mazmur 119:167

119:167 I keep your rules;

I love them greatly.

Mazmur 119:174

119:174 I long for your deliverance, O Lord;

I find delight in your law.

Mazmur 19:7-10

19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect

and preserves one’s life. ³ 

The rules set down by the Lord ⁴  are reliable ⁵ 

and impart wisdom to the inexperienced. ⁶ 

19:8 The Lord’s precepts are fair ⁷ 

and make one joyful. ⁸ 

The Lord’s commands ⁹  are pure ¹⁰ 

and give insight for life. ¹¹ 

19:9 The commands to fear the Lord are right ¹² 

and endure forever. ¹³ 

The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy

and absolutely just. ¹⁴ 

19:10 They are of greater value ¹⁵  than gold,

than even a great amount of pure gold;

they bring greater delight ¹⁶  than honey,

than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.

Ayub 23:11-12

23:11 My feet ¹⁷  have followed ¹⁸  his steps closely;

I have kept to his way and have not turned aside. ¹⁹ 

23:12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion. ²⁰ 

Roma 7:12

7:12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.

Roma 7:16

7:16 But if I do what I don’t want, I agree that the law is good. ²¹ 

Roma 7:22

7:22 For I delight in the law of God in my inner being.

[119:48]  ¹ tn Lifting the hands is often associated with prayer (Pss 28:2; 63:4; Lam 2:19). (1) Because praying to God’s law borders on the extreme, some prefer to emend the text to “I lift up my hands to you,” eliminating “your commands, which I love” as dittographic. In this view these words were accidentally repeated from the previous verse. (2) However, it is possible that the psalmist closely associates the law with God himself because he views the law as the expression of the divine will. (3) Another option is that “lifting the hands” does not refer to prayer here, but to the psalmist’s desire to receive and appropriate the law. (4) Still others understand this to be an action praising God’s commands (so NCV; cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

[119:127]  ² tn “For this reason” connects logically with the statement made in v. 126. Because the judgment the psalmist fears (see vv. 119-120) is imminent, he remains loyal to God’s law.

[19:7]  ³ tn Heb “[it] restores life.” Elsewhere the Hiphil of שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) when used with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “life”) as object, means to “rescue or preserve one’s life” (Job 33:30; Ps 35:17) or to “revive one’s strength” (emotionally or physically; cf. Ruth 4:15; Lam 1:11, 16, 19). Here the point seems to be that the law preserves the life of the one who studies it by making known God’s will. Those who know God’s will know how to please him and can avoid offending him. See v. 11a.

[19:7]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “the testimony of the Lord.” The noun עֵדוּת (’edut) refers here to the demands of God’s covenant law.

[19:7]  ⁵ tn God’s covenant contains a clear, reliable witness to his moral character and demands.

[19:7]  ⁶ tn Or “the [morally] naive,” that is, the one who is young and still in the process of learning right from wrong and distinguishing wisdom from folly.

[19:8]  ⁷ tn Or “just.” Perhaps the idea is that they impart a knowledge of what is just and right.

[19:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “[they] make happy [the] heart.” Perhaps the point is that they bring a sense of joyful satisfaction to the one who knows and keeps them, for those who obey God’s law are richly rewarded. See v. 11b.

[19:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “command.” The singular here refers to the law as a whole.

[19:8]  ¹⁰ tn Because they reflect God’s character, his commands provide a code of moral and ethical purity.

[19:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb [they] enlighten [the] eyes.

[19:9]  ¹² tn Heb “the fear of the Lord is clean.” The phrase “fear of the Lord” probably refers here to the law, which teaches one how to demonstrate proper reverence for the Lord. See Ps 111:10 for another possible use of the phrase in this sense.

[19:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “[it] stands permanently.”

[19:9]  ¹⁴ sn Trustworthy and absolutely just. The Lord’s commands accurately reflect God’s moral will for his people and are an expression of his just character.

[19:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “more desirable.”

[19:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “are sweeter.” God’s law is “sweet’ in the sense that, when obeyed, it brings a great reward (see v. 11b).

[23:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “my foot.”

[23:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “held fast.”

[23:11]  ¹⁹ tn The last clause, “and I have not turned aside,” functions adverbially in the sentence. The form אָט (’at) is a pausal form of אַתֶּה (’atteh), the Hiphil of נָטָה (natah, “stretch out”).

[23:12]  ²⁰ tc The form in the MT (מֵחֻקִּי, mekhuqqi) means “more than my portion” or “more than my law.” An expanded meaning results in “more than my necessary food” (see Ps 119:11; cf. KJV, NASB, ESV). HALOT 346 s.v. חֹק 1 indicates that חֹק (khoq) has the meaning of “portion” and is here a reference to “what is appointed for me.” The LXX and the Latin versions, along with many commentators, have בְּחֵקִי (bÿkheqi, “in my bosom”).

[7:16]  ²¹ tn Grk “I agree with the law that it is good.”