The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, for His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 NASB Acts of mercy – This is one of those cases where we must see the Hebrew in order to understand the impact of the verse. “Acts of mercy” just doesn’t cut it. We…
who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:4 NIV So that – It’s just a tiny word, eis, a little conjunctive. Note Oepke’s comment: “Originally spatial, this word takes on theological significance in the NT.”[1] This is…
A merciful person does himself good, but the cruel person does himself harm. Proverbs 11:17 NASB Merciful – It should come as no surprise that the word translated “mercy” is really ḥesed. The translation relies on the way ḥesed is treated in the LXX, but as you know, even there we find eight different Greek words for…
and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have despaired because of you. Joshua 2:9 NASB I know that – Yesterday we discovered that the spies considered all that happened to them as…
And should you tell of this mission of ours, we will be clear of your vow that you made us vow. Joshua 2:20 Robert Alter Your vow/us vow – Alter’s translation helps us realize that the same Hebrew word is used in both occurrences. If you read this verse in the NASB, you probably would…
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Jude 1:20-21 NIV Keep yourselves in God’s love – The literal text places “yourselves in the love…
which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; Colossians 1:6 NASB Constantly bearing fruit – One of the legends about the ‘olam ha’ba is that…
For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. Psalm 63:7 NASB Help – Psalm 63 seems to be filled with emotional contradictions. It begins with an agonizing plea. God is absent. The psalmist is in deep distress. We expect the lines to continue with yearning for connection, perhaps…
My soul is satisfied as with [d]marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. Psalm 63:5 NASB Marrow and fatness – What does David’s poetry have to do with the official English Burial Service? Well, “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” comes from the Burial Service, not the Bible. It is supposed to be derived…
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You. Psalm 63:3 NASB Better – Let’s correct the syntax. ki-tov comes first. “Because good” Your ḥesed me ḥayyîm. The last phrase (me ḥayyîm) adds the “than life” part. Min is the preposition of comparison, in this case ki-tov me becomes “better than.” But min…
