How blessed is the man who fears always, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. Proverbs 28:14 NASB Fear always – How can a man be blessed if he is always afraid? This just doesn’t seem to make any sense. If perfect love casts out fear, and we are exhorted to enter…
So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. Psalm 63:4 NASB Bless You – You probably grew up in the ethos of the omnipotent, immutable God. You know, the God who can do everything and doesn’t really need anything. That is the philosophical epitome of a…
Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” Job 2:9 NASB Curse – Job’s wife has only a few words to say, but, according to David Penchansky, what she says summarizes the entire story of this suffering, righteous man. She speaks sarcastically, telling Job, “Curse God…
His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Psalm 112:2 NASB Upright – What does it mean to be upright? In biblical terms, this is not an inherited condition. It’s not about having a conscience. It’s learned behavior. God grants man the ability to learn the Torah, but He does…
How blessed is the man who fears always, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. Proverbs 28:14 NASB Fear always – How can a man be blessed if he is always afraid? This just doesn’t seem to make any sense. If perfect love casts out fear, and we are exhorted to enter…
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Psalm 103:1 NASB O my soul – The first thing we notice about this poem of praise is that half of the English translations simply leave out of the opening word, l’david. The other half attempt translations like, “of…
For the lead player, al-tashchet, a David michtam, when he fled from Saul into the cave. Psalm 57:1 (in the Hebrew text, translated by Robert Alter) Fled – Fight or flight – human behavior in the face of conflict hasn’t changed much in 10,000 years. What’s your default behavior? Do you find the hairs on…
“Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25:34 NASB Blessed – If you turn to the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, you will find that each one begins with the Greek word makarioi. This word should not be translated “blessed are” since…
Jabez called upon the God of Israel saying, “Oh that you would bless me . . .” 1 Chronicles 4:10 ESV Bless – This word is barak. Examining it as a noun, we find that receiving a blessing in the Old Testament means getting something favorable from someone greater. The paradigm case is the transmission…
Blessed is the man to whom YHWH does not charge iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Psalm 32:2 Guile – There are two important verbs for blessing in the Hebrew text. The first is barak. This is the verb used to bless God and it is the verb used by God to…
