I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. Psalm 119:75 NASB Your judgments – I wonder if we can confidently echo David’s poetry. Do we really know that the judgments of the Lord are righteous, every one of them? The Hebrew is ki-tsedeq (righteous, just, justice,…
The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. James 5:16 NASB Righteous – Now we reach the critical word of James’ statement about prayer. The Greek is dikaiou. This is a word derived from the concept of justice. The man who is just (righteous) is the man who has been declared “not guilty”…
“Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” Habakkuk 2:4 ESV Righteous – What does it mean to say, “He is righteous”? Would you answer, “That means he has a right relationship with God”? Answers like this are common among Christians, but maybe…
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. Proverbs 4:18 NASB Righteous – This Hebrew word (tsedeq), occurring more than 250 times in the Old Testament, carries the connotation of moral conformity to norm or standard. It is used to describe the…
Who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; the LORD raises up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous; Psalm 146:7-8 NASB The oppressed – When we read “the oppressed” we are likely to…
He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD. Job 1:21 NASB Blessed be – The standard of righteousness is not exhibited in peace and prosperity. The standard of righteousness is displayed in…
And the salvation of the righteous is of YHWH; He is their strength in the time of trouble. Psalm 37:39 Of YHWH – Who owns your salvation? Not you! Salvation is me-YHWH. Many English translations render this “from the LORD,” as if the deliverance is ours but HE is the source. But the Hebrew expression…
Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. Ecclesiastes 7:20 Righteous – What do you think about this verse? Does it say that everyone is unrighteous? Does it claim that everyone is fallen? Go back and take a careful look. Doesn’t it suggest that there is no righteous…
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 5:1 Justified By Faith – It’s extremely unfortunate that Cardinal Hugo and Joseph Athias divided the Bible up into chapters (introduced about 1240 AD) and Arabic numeral verses (introduced in 1661). While such conventions became necessary for technological…
Teach me Your way, O YHWH, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Psalm 27:11 Smooth Path – The idea of a smooth path doesn’t seem to present any problems, does it? We know what smooth paths ought to be. Even if I translate the Hebrew beorach mishor as “straight path”…
