Revelation 5:2

5:2 And I saw a powerful angel proclaiming in a loud voice: “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?”

Revelation 5:9

5:9 They were singing a new song: ¹ 

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals

because you were killed, ² 

and at the cost of your own blood ³  you have purchased ⁴  for God

persons ⁵  from every tribe, language, ⁶  people, and nation.

Revelation 5:12

5:12 all of whom ⁷  were singing ⁸  in a loud voice:

“Worthy is the lamb who was killed ⁹ 

to receive power and wealth

and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and praise!”

Revelation 5:2

5:2 And I saw a powerful angel proclaiming in a loud voice: “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?”

Revelation 22:4

22:4 and they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

Psalms 18:3

18:3 I called ¹⁰  to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, ¹¹ 

and I was delivered from my enemies.

¹ tn The redundant participle λέγοντες (legontes) has not been translated here.

² tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

³ 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).”

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.

⁶ 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.

⁷ 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.

⁸ tn Grk “saying.”

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

¹⁰ tn In this song of thanksgiving, where the psalmist recalls how the Lord delivered him, the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not an imperfect.

¹¹ tn Heb “worthy of praise, I cried out [to] the Lord.” Some take מְהֻלָּל (mÿhullal, “worthy of praise”) with what precedes and translate, “the praiseworthy one,” or “praiseworthy.” However, the various epithets in vv. 1-2 have the first person pronominal suffix, unlike מְהֻלָּל. If one follows the traditional verse division and takes מְהֻלָּל with what follows, it is best understood as substantival and as appositional to יְהוָה (yÿhvah): “[to the] praiseworthy one I cried out, [to the] Lord.”