The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV Faithfulness – Last on the list; first in action. ʾĕmûnâ. If raḥûm is the feeling that God has for His people, that same feeling a pregnant woman has for her unborn child, then ʾĕmûnâ is the action that results from that bond. …
And Moses’ hands were heavy. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. So his hands were steady until the sun set. Exodus 17:12 NASB Steady – You might not see the important…
Your faithfulness continues throughout generations; You established the earth, and it stands. Psalm 119:90 NASB Generations – Disney borrowed from Genesis. “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Well, maybe not exactly. After all, the…
All Your commandments are faithful; they have persecuted me with a lie; help me! Psalm 119:86 NASB Faithful – It’s unfortunate that this translation pushes us to view the commandments as spiritual. “Faithful” makes it sound as if miṣwâ belong in the realm of religion, where “faith” operates differently than the rest of our “practical” lives. Such would…
I have chosen the faithful way; I have [l]placed Your judgments before me. Psalm 119:30 NASB Placed – What does “I have placed” really mean? TWOT notes the difficulty with this word in translation: “The use of šāwâ in Ps 119:30 is open to question. Is it, ‘Your judgments have I “placed” before me,’(šāwâ II); or, ‘Your…
But I—may my prayer to You, O LORD, come in a favorable hour. God, as befits Your great kindness, answer me with Your steadfast rescue. Psalm 69:14 [Hebrew Bible] Robert Alter But I – Most English Bibles gloss this Hebrew word, rendering it as “but as for me.” However, Alter correctly catches the hesitation, the…
For I have said, “Graciousness will be built up forever; in the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness.” Psalm 89:2 NASB Graciousness – I don’t mind telling you that this translation misses the point entirely. “Graciousness” is not being built up forever. In fact, graciousness isn’t even part of this description of the coming Kingdom. The Hebrew…
And not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God. Psalm 78:8 NASB Not prepare/ not faithful – Erica Brown makes a damning point about the ex-slaves in the wilderness: “The circuitousness of the journey is attributed to the moral and faith…
The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 NASB Faithfulness – We end at the beginning. This entire lament starts here, with a declaration of God’s faithfulness. But that’s what makes it so strange. Here, in the midst of a book of poems about the tragedy of…
