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So realize that the Lord your God is the true God,[a] the faithful God who keeps covenant faithfully[b] with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 7:9 tn Heb “the God.” The article here expresses uniqueness; cf. TEV “is the only God”; NLT “is indeed God.”
  2. Deuteronomy 7:9 tn Heb “who keeps covenant and loyalty.” The syndetic construction of בְּרִית (berit) and חֶסֶד (khesed) should be understood not as “covenant” plus “loyalty” but as an adverbial construction in which חֶסֶד (“loyalty”) modifies the verb שָׁמַר (shamar, “keeps”).

and showing covenant faithfulness[a] to a thousand generations[b] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 20:6 tn Literally “doing loyal love” (עֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד, ʿoseh khesed). The noun refers to God’s covenant loyalty, his faithful love to those who belong to him. These are members of the covenant, recipients of grace, the people of God, whom God will preserve and protect from evil and its effects.
  2. Exodus 20:6 tn Heb “to thousands” or “to thousandth.” After “tenth,” Hebrew uses cardinal numbers for ordinals also. This statement is the antithesis of the preceding line. The “thousands” or “thousandth [generation]” are those who love Yahweh and keep his commands. These are descendants from the righteous, and even associates with them, who benefit from the mercy that God extends to his people. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 195) says that this passage teaches that God’s mercy transcends his wrath; in his providence the beneficial consequences of a life of goodness extend indefinitely further than the retribution that is the penalty for persisting in sin. To say that God’s loyal love extends to thousands of generations or the thousandth generation is parallel to saying that it endures forever (Ps 118). See also Exod 34:7; Deut 5:10; 7:9; Ps 18:50; Jer 32:18.

10 but I show covenant faithfulness[a] to the thousands[b] who choose[c] me and keep my commandments.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 5:10 tn This theologically rich term (חֶסֶד, khesed) describes God’s loyalty to those who keep covenant with him. Sometimes it is used synonymously with בְּרִית (berit, “covenant”; Deut 7:9), and sometimes interchangeably with it (Deut 7:12). See H.-J. Zobel, TDOT 5:44-64.
  2. Deuteronomy 5:10 tc By a slight emendation (לֲאַלֻּפִים [laʾallufim] for לַאֲלָפִים [laʾalafim]) “clans” could be read in place of the MT reading “thousands.” However, no ms or versional evidence exists to support this emendation.tn Another option is to understand this as referring to “thousands (of generations) of those who love me” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). See Deut 7:9.
  3. Deuteronomy 5:10 tn Heb “love.” See note on the word “reject” in v. 9.

Promises of Good for Covenant Obedience

12 If you obey these ordinances and are careful to do them, the Lord your God will faithfully keep covenant with you[a] as he promised[b] your ancestors.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 7:12 tn Heb “will keep with you the covenant and loyalty.” On the construction used here, see v. 9.
  2. Deuteronomy 7:12 tn Heb “which he swore on oath.” The relative pronoun modifies “covenant,” so one could translate “will keep faithfully the covenant (or promise) he made on oath to your ancestors.”

23 He prayed:[a] “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You maintain covenantal loyalty[b] to your servants who obey you with sincerity.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 8:23 tn Heb “said.”
  2. 1 Kings 8:23 tn Heb “one who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys.
  3. 1 Kings 8:23 tn Heb “who walk before you with all their heart.”

14 and prayed:[a] “O Lord God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth! You maintain covenantal loyalty[b] to your servants who obey you with sincerity.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 6:14 tn Heb “said.”
  2. 2 Chronicles 6:14 tn Heb “one who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 6:14 tn Heb “who walk before you with all their heart.”

45 He remembered his covenant with them,
and relented[a] because of his great loyal love.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 106:45 tn The Niphal of נָחַם (nakham) refers here to God relenting from a punishment already underway.

I prayed to the Lord my God, confessing in this way:

“O Lord,[a] great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant[b] with those who love him and keep his commandments,

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 9:4 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 7, 9, 15, 16, and 19 is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
  2. Daniel 9:4 tn Heb “who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys.