Isaiah 51:11

51:11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;

they will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them, ¹ 

happiness and joy will overwhelm ²  them;

grief and suffering will disappear. ³ 

Isaiah 62:12

62:12 They will be called, “The Holy People,

the Ones Protected ⁴  by the Lord.”

You will be called, “Sought After,

City Not Abandoned.”

Titus 2:14

2:14 He ⁵  gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, ⁶  who are eager to do good. ⁷ 

Revelation 5:9

5:9 They were singing a new song: ⁸ 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, ⁹ 

and at the cost of your own blood ¹⁰  you have purchased ¹¹  for God

persons ¹²  from every tribe, language, ¹³  people, and nation.

¹ tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.

² tn Heb “overtake” (so NIV); NASB “they will obtain.”

³ tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee.”

⁴ tn Or “the redeemed of the Lord” (KJV, NAB).

⁵ tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

⁶ tn Or “a people who are his very own.”

⁷ tn Grk “for good works.”

⁸ tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.

⁹ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

¹⁰ 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).”

¹¹ 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.

¹² 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.

¹³ 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.