95:1 Come! Let’s sing for joy to the Lord!
Let’s shout out praises to our protector who delivers us! 2
95:2 Let’s enter his presence 3 with thanksgiving!
Let’s shout out to him in celebration! 4
A thanksgiving psalm.
100:1 Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth!
100:2 Worship 6 the Lord with joy!
Enter his presence with joyful singing!
52:8 Listen, 7 your watchmen shout;
in unison they shout for joy,
for they see with their very own eyes 8
the Lord’s return to Zion.
4:32 The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, 10 and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common. 11
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals
because you were killed, 16
and at the cost of your own blood 17 you have purchased 18 for God
persons 19 from every tribe, language, 20 people, and nation.
5:10 You have appointed 21 them 22 as a kingdom and priests 23 to serve 24 our God, and they will reign 25 on the earth.”
5:11 Then 26 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 27 number was ten thousand times ten thousand 28 – thousands times thousands – 5:12 all of whom 29 were singing 30 in a loud voice:
“Worthy is the lamb who was killed 31
to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and praise!”
5:13 Then 32 I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: 33
“To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power 34 forever and ever!”
5:14 And the four living creatures were saying “Amen,” and the elders threw themselves to the ground 35 and worshiped.
1 sn Psalm 95. The psalmist summons Israel to praise God as the creator of the world and the nation’s protector, but he also reminds the people not to rebel against God.
2 tn Heb “to the rocky summit of our deliverance.”
3 tn Heb “meet his face.”
4 tn Heb “with songs of joy.”
5 sn Psalm 100. The psalmist celebrates the fact that Israel has a special relationship to God and summons worshipers to praise the Lord for his faithfulness.
6 tn Or “serve.”
7 tn קוֹל (qol, “voice”) is used at the beginning of the verse as an interjection.
8 tn Heb “eye in eye”; KJV, ASV “eye to eye”; NAB “directly, before their eyes.”
9 tn Heb “I will give to them one heart and one way to [= in order that they may] fear me all the days for good to them.” The phrase “one heart” refers both to unanimity of will and accord (cf. 1 Chr 12:38 [12:39 HT]; 2 Chr 30:12) and to singleness of purpose or intent (cf. Ezek 11:19 and see BDB 525 s.v. ֵלב 4 where reference is made to “inclinations, resolutions, and determinations of the will”). The phrase “one way” refers to one way of life or conduct (cf. BDB 203 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 6.a where reference is made to moral action and character), a way of life that is further qualified by the goal of showing “fear, reverence, respect” for the
10 tn Grk “soul.”
11 tn Grk “but all things were to them in common.”
12 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.”
13 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
14 sn This interpretive comment by the author forms a parenthesis in the narrative.
15 tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.
16 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”
17 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).”
18 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
19 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.
20 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.
21 tn The verb ἐποίησας (epoihsas) is understood to mean “appointed” here. For an example of this use, see Mark 3:14.
22 tc The vast majority of witnesses have αὐτούς (autous, “them”) here, while the Textus Receptus reads ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”) with insignificant support (pc gig vgcl sa Prim Bea). There is no question that the original text read αὐτούς here.
23 tn The reference to “kingdom and priests” may be a hendiadys: “priestly kingdom.”
24 tn The words “to serve” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the word “priests.”
25 tc The textual problem here between the present tense βασιλεύουσιν (basileuousin, “they are reigning”; so A 1006 1611 ÏK pc) and the future βασιλεύσουσιν (basileusousin, “they will reign”; so א 1854 2053 ÏA 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.
26 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
27 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.
28 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.
29 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.
30 tn Grk “saying.”
31 tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”
32 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
33 tn Grk “saying.”
34 tn Or “dominion.”
35 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.”