Isaiah 41:14-20

41:14 Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, ¹ 

men of ²  Israel.

I am helping you,” says the Lord,

your protector, ³  the Holy One of Israel. ⁴ 

41:15 “Look, I am making you like ⁵  a sharp threshing sledge,

new and double-edged. ⁶ 

You will thresh the mountains and crush them;

you will make the hills like straw. ⁷ 

41:16 You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away;

the wind will scatter them.

You will rejoice in the Lord;

you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

41:17 The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none;

their tongues are parched from thirst.

I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; ⁸ 

I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.

41:18 I will make streams flow down the slopes

and produce springs in the middle of the valleys.

I will turn the desert into a pool of water

and the arid land into springs.

41:19 I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness;

I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the desert.

41:20 I will do this so ⁹  people ¹⁰  will observe and recognize,

so they will pay attention and understand

that the Lord’s power ¹¹  has accomplished this,

and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.” ¹² 

Isaiah 45:6

45:6 I do this ¹³  so people ¹⁴  will recognize from east to west

that there is no God but me;

I am the Lord, I have no peer.

Isaiah 60:16

60:16 You will drink the milk of nations;

you will nurse at the breasts of kings. ¹⁵ 

Then you will recognize that I, the Lord, am your deliverer,

your protector, ¹⁶  the powerful ruler of Jacob. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 9:16

9:16 The Lord revealed himself;

he accomplished justice;

the wicked were ensnared by their own actions. ¹⁸  (Higgaion. ¹⁹  Selah)

Psalms 58:10-11

58:10 The godly ²⁰  will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;

they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

58:11 Then ²¹  observers ²²  will say,

“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! ²³ 

Yes indeed, there is a God who judges ²⁴  in the earth!”

Psalms 83:18

83:18 Then they will know ²⁵  that you alone are the Lord, ²⁶ 

the sovereign king ²⁷  over all the earth.

Ezekiel 39:7

39:7 “‘I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. ²⁸ 

Revelation 15:3-4

15:3 They ²⁹  sang the song of Moses the servant ³⁰  of God and the song of the Lamb: ³¹ 

“Great and astounding are your deeds,

Lord God, the All-Powerful! ³² 

Just ³³  and true are your ways,

King over the nations! ³⁴ 

15:4 Who will not fear you, O Lord,

and glorify ³⁵  your name, because you alone are holy? ³⁶ 

All nations ³⁷  will come and worship before you

for your righteous acts ³⁸  have been revealed.”

¹ tn Heb “O worm Jacob” (NAB, NIV). The worm metaphor suggests that Jacob is insignificant and despised.

² tn On the basis of the parallelism (note “worm”) and an alleged Akkadian cognate, some read “louse” or “weevil.” Cf. NAB “O maggot Israel”; NRSV “you insect Israel.”

³ tn Heb “your kinsman redeemer.” A גָּאַל (ga’al, “kinsman redeemer”) was a protector of the extended family’s interests.

⁴ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

⁵ tn Heb “into” (so NIV); ASV “have made thee to be.”

⁶ tn Heb “owner of two-mouths,” i.e., double-edged.

⁷ sn The mountains and hills symbolize hostile nations that are obstacles to Israel’s restoration.

⁸ tn Heb “will answer them” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

⁹ tn The words “I will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text has here simply, “in order that.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “they”; NAB, NRSV “that all may see”; CEV, NLT “Everyone will see.”

¹¹ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

¹² tn Or “created it” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “has made it happen.”

¹³ tn The words “I do this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁴ tn Heb “they” (so KJV, ASV); TEV, CEV “everyone”; NLT “all the world.”

¹⁵ sn The nations and kings are depicted as a mother nursing her children. Restored Zion will be nourished by them as she receives their wealth as tribute.

¹⁶ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

¹⁷ sn See 1:24 and 49:26.

¹⁸ tn Heb “by the work of his hands [the] wicked [one] was ensnared. The singular form רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) is collective or representative here (see vv. 15, 17). The form נוֹקֵשׁ (noqesh) appears to be an otherwise unattested Qal form (active participle) from נָקַשׁ (naqash), but the form should be emended to נוֹקַשׁ (noqash), a Niphal perfect from יָקַשׁ (yaqash).

¹⁹ tn This is probably a technical musical term.

²⁰ tn The singular is representative here, as is the singular from “wicked” in the next line.

²¹ tn Following the imperfects of v. 10, the prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates a result or consequence of what precedes.

²² tn Heb “man.” The singular is representative here.

²³ tn Heb “surely [there] is fruit for the godly.”

²⁴ tn The plural participle is unusual here if the preceding אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is here a plural of majesty, referring to the one true God. Occasionally the plural of majesty does take a plural attributive (see GKC 428-29 §132.h). It is possible that the final mem (ם) on the participle is enclitic, and that it was later misunderstood as a plural ending. Another option is to translate, “Yes indeed, there are gods who judge in the earth.” In this case, the statement reflects the polytheistic mindset of pagan observers who, despite their theological ignorance, nevertheless recognize divine retribution when they see it.

²⁵ tn After the preceding jussives (v. 17), the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose (“so that they may know”) or result.

²⁶ tn Heb “that you, your name [is] the Lord, you alone.”

²⁷ tn Traditionally “the Most High.”

²⁸ sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.

²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

³⁰ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

³¹ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

³² tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

³³ tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

³⁴ tc Certain mss (Ì⁴⁷ א*^,2 C 1006 1611 1841 pc) read “ages” (αἰώνων, aiwnwn) instead of “nations” (ἐθνῶν, eqnwn), which itself is supported by several mss (א¹ A 051 Ï). The ms evidence seems to be fairly balanced, though αἰώνων has somewhat better support. The replacement of “ages” with “nations” is possibly a scribal attempt to harmonize this verse with the use of “nations” in the following verse. On the other hand, the idea of “nations” fits well with v. 4 and it may be that “ages” is a scribal attempt to assimilate this text to 1 Tim 1:17: “the king of the ages” (βασιλεὺς τῶν αἰώνων, basileu" twn aiwnwn). The decision is a difficult one since both scenarios deal well with the evidence, though the verbal parallel with 1 Tim 1:17 is exact while the parallel with v. 4 is not. The term “king” occurs 17 other times (most occurrences refer to earthly kings) in Revelation and it is not used with either “ages” or “nations” apart from this verse. Probably the reading “nations” should be considered original due to the influence of 1 Tim 1:17.

³⁵ tn Or “and praise.”

³⁶ sn Because you alone are holy. In the Greek text the sentence literally reads “because alone holy.” Three points can be made in connection with John’s language here: (1) Omitting the second person, singular verb “you are” lays stress on the attribute of God’s holiness. (2) The juxtaposition of alone with holy stresses the unique nature of God’s holiness and complete “otherness” in relationship to his creation. It is not just moral purity which is involved in the use of the term holy, though it certainly includes that. It is also the pervasive OT idea that although God is deeply involved in the governing of his creation, he is to be regarded as separate and distinct from it. (3) John’s use of the term holy is also intriguing since it is the term ὅσιος (Josios) and not the more common NT term ἅγιος (Jagios). The former term evokes images of Christ’s messianic status in early Christian preaching. Both Peter in Acts 2:27 and Paul in Acts 13:35 apply Psalm 16:10 (LXX) to Jesus, referring to him as the “holy one” (ὅσιος). It is also the key term in Acts 13:34 (Isa 55:3 [LXX]) where it refers to the “holy blessings” (i.e., forgiveness and justification) brought about through Jesus in fulfillment of Davidic promise. Thus, in Rev 15:3-4, when John refers to God as “holy,” using the term ὅσιος in a context where the emphasis is on both God and Christ, there might be an implicit connection between divinity and the Messiah. This is bolstered by the fact that the Lamb is referred to in other contexts as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (cf. 1:5; 17:14; 19:16 and perhaps 11:15; G. K. Beale, Revelation [NIGTC], 796-97).

³⁷ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

³⁸ tn Or perhaps, “your sentences of condemnation.” On δικαίωμα (dikaiwma) in this context BDAG 249 s.v. 2. states, “righteous deed…δι᾿ ἑνὸς δικαιώματος (opp. παράπτωμα) Ro 5:18. – B 1:2 (cp. Wengst, Barnabas-brief 196, n.4); Rv 15:4 (here perh.= ‘sentence of condemnation’ [cp. Pla., Leg. 9, 864e; ins fr. Asia Minor: LBW 41, 2 [κατὰ] τὸ δι[καί]ωμα τὸ κυρω[θέν]= ‘acc. to the sentence which has become valid’]; difft. Wengst, s. above); 19:8.”