Psalms 2:12

2:12 Give sincere homage! ¹ 

Otherwise he ²  will be angry, ³ 

and you will die because of your behavior, ⁴ 

when his anger quickly ignites. ⁵ 

How blessed ⁶  are all who take shelter in him! ⁷ 

Psalms 95:6

95:6 Come! Let’s bow down and worship! ⁸ 

Let’s kneel before the Lord, our creator!

Luke 24:52

24:52 So ⁹  they worshiped ¹⁰  him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ¹¹ 

John 4:21-22

4:21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, ¹²  a time ¹³  is coming when you will worship ¹⁴  the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 4:22 You people ¹⁵  worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. ¹⁶ 

Revelation 5:8-14

5:8 and when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders threw themselves to the ground ¹⁷  before the Lamb. Each ¹⁸  of them had a harp and golden bowls full of incense (which are the prayers of the saints). ¹⁹  5:9 They were singing a new song: ²⁰ 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, ²¹ 

and at the cost of your own blood ²²  you have purchased ²³  for God

persons ²⁴  from every tribe, language, ²⁵  people, and nation.

5:10 You have appointed ²⁶  them ²⁷  as a kingdom and priests ²⁸  to serve ²⁹  our God, and they will reign ³⁰  on the earth.”

5:11 Then ³¹  I looked and heard the voice of many angels in a circle around the throne, as well as the living creatures and the elders. Their ³²  number was ten thousand times ten thousand ³³  – thousands times thousands – 5:12 all of whom ³⁴  were singing ³⁵  in a loud voice:

“Worthy is the lamb who was killed ³⁶ 

to receive power and wealth

and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and praise!”

5:13 Then ³⁷  I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: ³⁸ 

“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb

be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power ³⁹  forever and ever!”

5:14 And the four living creatures were saying “Amen,” and the elders threw themselves to the ground ⁴⁰  and worshiped.

[2:12]  ¹ tn Traditionally, “kiss the son” (KJV). But בַּר (bar) is the Aramaic word for “son,” not the Hebrew. For this reason many regard the reading as suspect. Some propose emendations of vv. 11b-12a. One of the more popular proposals is to read בִּרְעָדָה נַשְּׁקוּ לְרַגְלָיו (bir’adah nashÿqu lÿraslayv, “in trembling kiss his feet”). It makes better sense to understand בַּר (bar) as an adjective meaning “pure” (see Pss 24:4; 73:1 and BDB 141 s.v. בַּר 3) functioning here in an adverbial sense. If read this way, then the syntactical structure of exhortation (imperative followed by adverbial modifier) corresponds to the two preceding lines (see v. 11). The verb נָשַׁק (nashaq, “kiss”) refers metonymically to showing homage (see 1 Sam 10:1; Hos 13:2). The exhortation in v. 12a advocates a genuine expression of allegiance and warns against insincerity. When swearing allegiance, vassal kings would sometimes do so insincerely, with the intent of rebelling when the time was right. The so-called “Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon” also warn against such an attitude. In this treaty the vassal is told: “If you, as you stand on the soil where this oath [is sworn], swear the oath with your words and lips [only], do not swear with your entire heart, do not transmit it to your sons who will live after this treaty, if you take this curse upon yourselves but do not plan to keep the treaty of Esarhaddon…may your sons and grandsons because of this fear in the future” (see J. B. Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near East, 2:62).

[2:12]  ² tn Throughout the translation of this verse the third person masculine pronouns refer to the Lord (cf. v. 11).

[2:12]  ³ tn The implied subject of the verb is the Lord, mentioned in v. 11. Elsewhere the subject of this verb is consistently the Lord, suggesting it may be a technical term for divine anger. Anger is here used metonymically for judgment, as the following statement makes clear. A Moabite cognate occurs in the Mesha inscription, where it is used of the Moabite god Chemosh’s anger at his people (see J. B. Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near East, 1:209).

[2:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “and you will perish [in the] way.” The Hebrew word דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) here refers to their rebellious behavior (not to a pathway, as often understood). It functions syntactically as an adverbial accusative in relation to the verb “perish.”

[2:12]  ⁵ tn Or “burns.” The Lord’s anger is compared here to fire, the most destructive force known in ancient Israel.

[2:12]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[2:12]  ⁷ sn Who take shelter in him. “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[95:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “kneel down.”

[24:52]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of Jesus’ ascension and the concluding summary of Luke’s Gospel.

[24:52]  ¹⁰ tc The reference to worship is lacking in the Western ms D, its last major omission in this Gospel.

[24:52]  ¹¹ sn Joy is another key theme for Luke: 1:14; 2:10; 8:13; 10:17; 15:7, 10; 24:41.

[4:21]  ¹² sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[4:21]  ¹³ tn Grk “an hour.”

[4:21]  ¹⁴ tn The verb is plural.

[4:22]  ¹⁵ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “worship” is second person plural and thus refers to more than the woman alone.

[4:22]  ¹⁶ tn Or “from the Judeans.” See the note on “Jew” in v. 9.

[5:8]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”

[5:8]  ¹⁸ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[5:8]  ¹⁹ sn This interpretive comment by the author forms a parenthesis in the narrative.

[5:9]  ²⁰ tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.

[5:9]  ²¹ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:9]  ²² tn The preposition ἐν (en) is taken to indicate price here, like the Hebrew preposition ב (bet) does at times. BDAG 329 s.v. ἐν 5.b states, “The ἐν which takes the place of the gen. of price is also instrumental ἠγόρασας ἐν τῷ αἵματί σου Rv 5:9 (cp. 1 Ch 21:24 ἀγοράζω ἐν ἀργυρίῳ).”

[5:9]  ²³ tc The Greek text as it stands above (i.e., the reading τῷ θεῷ [tw qew] alone) is found in codex A. א 2050 2344 Ï sy add the term “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas), either before or after τῷ θεῷ, as an attempt to clarify the object of “purchased” (ἠγόρασας, hgorasa"). A few mss (1 vg^ms) delete the reference to God altogether and simply replace it with “us” (ἡμᾶς). This too is an attempt to remove ambiguity in the phrase and provide an object for “purchased.” The shorter reading, supported by the best witness for Revelation, best accounts for the other readings.

[5:9]  ²⁴ tn The word “persons” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[5:9]  ²⁵ tn Grk “and language,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[5:10]  ²⁶ tn The verb ἐποίησας (epoihsas) is understood to mean “appointed” here. For an example of this use, see Mark 3:14.

[5:10]  ²⁷ tc The vast majority of witnesses have αὐτούς (autous, “them”) here, while the Textus Receptus reads ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”) with insignificant support (pc gig vg^cl sa Prim Bea). There is no question that the original text read αὐτούς here.

[5:10]  ²⁸ tn The reference to “kingdom and priests” may be a hendiadys: “priestly kingdom.”

[5:10]  ²⁹ tn The words “to serve” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the word “priests.”

[5:10]  ³⁰ tc The textual problem here between the present tense βασιλεύουσιν (basileuousin, “they are reigning”; so A 1006 1611 Ï^K pc) and the future βασιλεύσουσιν (basileusousin, “they will reign”; so א 1854 2053 Ï^A pc lat co) is a difficult one. Both readings have excellent support. On the one hand, the present tense seems to be the harder reading in this context. On the other hand, codex A elsewhere mistakes the future for the present (20:6). Further, the lunar sigma in uncial script could have been overlooked by some scribes, resulting in the present tense. All things considered, there is a slight preference for the future.

[5:11]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:11]  ³² tn Grk “elders, and the number of them was.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[5:11]  ³³ tn Or “myriads of myriads.” Although μυριάς (murias) literally means “10,000,” the point of the combination here may simply be to indicate an incalculably huge number. See L&N 60.9.

[5:12]  ³⁴ tn The words “all of whom” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to indicate the resumption of the phrase “the voice of many angels” at the beginning of the verse.

[5:12]  ³⁵ tn Grk “saying.”

[5:12]  ³⁶ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[5:13]  ³⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[5:13]  ³⁸ tn Grk “saying.”

[5:13]  ³⁹ tn Or “dominion.”

[5:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב. has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion or humility, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”