Psalms 33:1

Psalm 33

33:1 You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!

It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.

Psalms 42:4

42:4 I will remember and weep!

For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God,

shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival.

Psalms 122:1-4

Psalm 122

A song of ascents, by David.

122:1 I was glad because they said to me,

“We will go to the Lord’s temple.”

122:2 Our feet are standing

inside your gates, O Jerusalem.

122:3 Jerusalem is a city designed

to accommodate an assembly.

122:4 The tribes go up 10  there, 11 

the tribes of the Lord,

where it is required that Israel

give thanks to the name of the Lord. 12 

Revelation 5:9-14

5:9 They were singing a new song: 13 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, 14 

and at the cost of your own blood 15  you have purchased 16  for God

persons 17  from every tribe, language, 18  people, and nation.

5:10 You have appointed 19  them 20  as a kingdom and priests 21  to serve 22  our God, and they will reign 23  on the earth.”

5:11 Then 24  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 25  number was ten thousand times ten thousand 26  – thousands times thousands – 5:12 all of whom 27  were singing 28  in a loud voice:

“Worthy is the lamb who was killed 29 

to receive power and wealth

and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and praise!”

5:13 Then 30  I heard every creature – in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea, and all that is in them – singing: 31 

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

be praise, honor, glory, and ruling power 32  forever and ever!”

5:14 And the four living creatures were saying “Amen,” and the elders threw themselves to the ground 33  and worshiped.

Revelation 19:1-6

19:1 After these things I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a vast throng in heaven, saying,

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

19:2 because his judgments are true and just. 34 

For he has judged 35  the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,

and has avenged the blood of his servants 36  poured out by her own hands!” 37 

19:3 Then 38  a second time the crowd shouted, “Hallelujah!” The smoke rises from her forever and ever. 39  19:4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures threw themselves to the ground 40  and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne, saying: “Amen! Hallelujah!”

19:5 Then 41  a voice came from the throne, saying:

“Praise our God

all you his servants,

and all you who fear Him,

both the small and the great!”

The Wedding Celebration of the Lamb

19:6 Then 42  I heard what sounded like the voice of a vast throng, like the roar of many waters and like loud crashes of thunder. They were shouting: 43 

“Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God, 44  the All-Powerful, 45  reigns!


sn Psalm 33. In this hymn the psalmist praises the Lord as the sovereign creator and just ruler of the world who protects and vindicates those who fear him.

tn Heb “These things I will remember and I will pour out upon myself my soul.” “These things” are identified in the second half of the verse as those times when the psalmist worshiped in the Lord’s temple. The two cohortative forms indicate the psalmist’s resolve to remember and weep. The expression “pour out upon myself my soul” refers to mourning (see Job 30:16).

tc Heb “for I was passing by with the throng [?], I was walking with [?] them to the house of God; with a voice of a ringing shout and thanksgiving a multitude was observing a festival.” The Hebrew phrase בַּסָּךְ אֶדַּדֵּם (bassakheddaddem, “with the throng [?] I was walking with [?]”) is particularly problematic. The noun סָךְ (sakh) occurs only here. If it corresponds to הָמוֹן (hamon, “multitude”) then one can propose a meaning “throng.” The present translation assumes this reading (cf. NIV, NRSV). The form אֶדַּדֵּם (“I will walk with [?]”) is also very problematic. The form can be taken as a Hitpael from דָּדָה (dadah; this verb possibly appears in Isa 38:15), but the pronominal suffix is problematic. For this reason many emend the form to ם[י]אַדִּרִ (’adirim, “nobles”) or ם-רִ[י]אַדִ (’adirim, “great,” with enclitic mem [ם]). The present translation understands the latter and takes the adjective “great” as modifying “throng.” If one emends סָךְ (sakh, “throng [?]”) to סֹךְ (sokh, “shelter”; see the Qere of Ps 27:5), then ר[י]אַדִּ (’addir) could be taken as a divine epithet, “[in the shelter of] the majestic one,” a reading which may find support in the LXX and Syriac Peshitta.

sn Psalm 122. The psalmist expresses his love for Jerusalem and promises to pray for the city’s security.

sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

tn Heb “in the ones saying to me.” After the verb שָׂמַח (samakh), the preposition בְּ (bet) usually introduces the reason for joy.

tn Or “were.”

map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

tc Heb “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which is joined to her together.” The meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. Many regard this as a description of the compact way in which the city was designed or constructed. The translation assumes an emendation of the verb חֻבְּרָה (khubbÿrah, “is joined”) to a noun חֶבְרָה (khevrah, “association; company”). The text then reads literally, “Jerusalem, which is built like a city which has a company together.” This in turn can be taken as a reference to Jerusalem’s role as a city where people congregated for religious festivals and other civic occasions (see vv. 4-5).

10 tn Or “went up.”

11 tn Heb “which is where the tribes go up.”

12 tn Heb “[it is] a statute for Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord.”

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

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

15 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).”

16 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 vgms) 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.

17 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.

18 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.

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

20 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.

21 tn The reference to “kingdom and priests” may be a hendiadys: “priestly kingdom.”

22 tn The words “to serve” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the word “priests.”

23 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.

24 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

25 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.

26 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.

27 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.

28 tn Grk “saying.”

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

30 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

31 tn Grk “saying.”

32 tn Or “dominion.”

33 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.”

34 tn Compare the similar phrase in Rev 16:7.

35 tn Or “has punished.” See BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 5.b.α, describing the OT background which involves both the vindication of the innocent and the punishment of the guilty.

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

37 tn Grk “from her hand” (referring to her responsibility in causing the blood of God’s followers to be shed).

38 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

39 tn Or “her smoke ascends forever and ever.”

40 tn Grk “creatures 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.”

41 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

42 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

43 tn Grk “like the voice of a large crowd…saying.” Because of the complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were.”

44 tc Several mss (א2 P 1611 2053 2344 pc ÏK lat ) read “the Lord our God” (κύριος ὁ θεός ἡμῶν, kurio" Jo qeo" Jhmwn). Other important mss (A 1006 1841 pc), however, omit the “our” (ἡμῶν). Further, certain mss (051 ÏA) omit “Lord” (κύριος), while others (including א*) change the order of the statement to “God our Lord” (ὁ θεός ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν). The expression “the Lord God, the All-Powerful” occurs in 6 other places in Revelation (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22) and the pronoun “our” is never used. Scribes familiar with the expression in this book, and especially with the frequent κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ (kurio" Jo qeo" Jo pantokratwr; “the Lord God, the All-Powerful”) in the OT Prophets (LXX; cf. Jer 39:19; Hos 12:6; Amos 3:13; 4:13; 5:8, 14, 15, 16, 27; 9:5, 6, 15; Nah 3:5; Zech 10:3), would naturally omit the pronoun. Its presence may have arisen due to liturgical motivations or to conform to the expression “our God” in 19:1, 5, but this seems much less likely than an aversion to using the pronoun here and only here in the Greek Bible in the fuller title κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ.

45 tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…() κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22…κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ὁ π. Rv 19:6.”