20:28 Loyal love and truth 1 preserve a king,
and his throne is upheld by loyal love. 2
1 tn The first line uses two Hebrew words, חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת (khesed ve’emet, “loyal love and truth”), to tell where security lies. The first word is the covenant term for “loyal love; loving-kindness; mercy”; and the second is “truth” in the sense of what is reliable and dependable. The two words often are joined together to form a hendiadys: “faithful love.” That a hendiadys is intended here is confirmed by the fact that the second line uses only the critical word חֶסֶד.
2 sn The emphasis is on the Davidic covenant (2 Sam 7:11-16; Ps 89:19-37). It is the