Revelation 14:2-3

14:2 I also heard a sound ¹  coming out of heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. Now ²  the sound I heard was like that made by harpists playing their harps, 14:3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No ³  one was able to learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth.

Revelation 15:2

15:2 Then ⁴  I saw something like a sea of glass ⁵  mixed with fire, and those who had conquered ⁶  the beast and his image and the number of his name. They were standing ⁷  by ⁸  the sea of glass, holding harps given to them by God. ⁹ 

Psalms 33:2

33:2 Give thanks to the Lord with the harp!

Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument!

Psalms 43:4

43:4 Then I will go ¹⁰  to the altar of God,

to the God who gives me ecstatic joy, ¹¹ 

so that I express my thanks to you, ¹²  O God, my God, with a harp.

Psalms 81:2

81:2 Sing ¹³  a song and play the tambourine,

the pleasant sounding harp, and the ten-stringed instrument!

Psalms 150:3

150:3 Praise him with the blast of the horn!

Praise him with the lyre and the harp!

¹ tn Or “a voice” (cf. Rev 1:15), but since in this context nothing is mentioned as the content of the voice, it is preferable to translate φωνή (fwnh) as “sound” here.

² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a new topic.

³ tn Grk “elders, and no one.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but because of the length and complexity of the sentence a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

⁵ sn See Rev 4:6 where the sea of glass was mentioned previously.

⁶ tn Or “had been victorious over”; traditionally, “had overcome.”

⁷ tn Grk “of his name, standing.” A new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the words “They were.”

⁸ tn Or “on.” The preposition ἐπί (epi) with the accusative case could mean “on, at, by, near”; given the nature of this scene appearing in a vision, it is difficult to know precisely which the author of Revelation intended. See BDAG 363 s.v. ἐπί 1.c.γ, “At, by, near someone or someth.”

⁹ tn Grk “harps of God.” The phrase τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou) has been translated as a genitive of agency.

¹⁰ tn The cohortative expresses the psalmist’s resolve. Prefixed with the vav (ו) conjunctive it also expresses the result or outcome of the preceding verbs “lead” and “escort.”

¹¹ tn Heb “to God, the joy of my happiness.” The phrase “joy of my happiness” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the degree of the psalmist’s joy. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

¹² tn The cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive probably indicates purpose (“so that”) or intention.

¹³ tn Heb “lift up.”