64:9 and all people will fear. 1
They will proclaim 2 what God has done,
and reflect on his deeds.
59:18 He repays them for what they have done,
dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries
and punishing his enemies. 3
He repays the coastlands. 4
59:19 In the west, people respect 5 the Lord’s reputation; 6
in the east they recognize his splendor. 7
For he comes like a rushing 8 stream
driven on by wind sent from the Lord. 9
15:4 Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and glorify 10 your name, because you alone are holy? 11
All nations 12 will come and worship before you
for your righteous acts 13 have been revealed.”
1 tc Many medieval Hebrew
2 tn Heb “the work of God,” referring to the judgment described in v. 7.
3 tn Heb “in accordance with deeds, so he repays, anger to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies.”
4 tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV).
5 tc Heb “fear.” A few medieval Hebrew
6 tn Heb “and they fear from the west the name of the Lord.”
7 tn Heb “and from the rising of the sun his splendor.”
8 tn Heb “narrow”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “pent-up.”
9 tn Heb “the wind of the Lord drives it on.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh) could be translated “breath” here (see 30:28).
10 tn Or “and praise.”
11 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).
12 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).
13 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.”