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 15:3

15:3 They ⁷  sang the song of Moses the servant ⁸  of God and the song of the Lamb: ⁹ 

“Great and astounding are your deeds,

Lord God, the All-Powerful! ¹⁰ 

Just ¹¹  and true are your ways,

King over the nations! ¹² 

Psalms 33:3

33:3 Sing to him a new song! ¹³ 

Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him! ¹⁴ 

Psalms 40:3

40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, ¹⁵ 

praising our God. ¹⁶ 

May many see what God has done,

so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord! ¹⁷ 

Psalms 96:1

Psalm 96 ¹⁸ 

96:1 Sing to the Lord a new song! ¹⁹ 

Sing to the Lord, all the earth!

Psalms 98:1

Psalm 98 ²⁰ 

A psalm.

98:1 Sing to the Lord a new song, ²¹ 

for he performs ²²  amazing deeds!

His right hand and his mighty arm

accomplish deliverance. ²³ 

Psalms 144:9

144:9 O God, I will sing a new song to you!

Accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, I will sing praises to you,

Psalms 149:1

Psalm 149 ²⁴ 

149:1 Praise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord a new song!

Praise him in the assembly of the godly! ²⁵ 

Isaiah 42:10

42:10 Sing to the Lord a brand new song!

Praise him ²⁶  from the horizon of the earth,

you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it, ²⁷ 

you coastlands ²⁸  and those who live there!

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 Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

⁸ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

⁹ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

¹⁰ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

¹¹ tn Or “righteous,” although the context favors justice as the theme.

¹² tc Certain mss (Ì⁴⁷ א*^,2 C 1006 1611 1841 pc) read “ages” (αἰώνων, aiwnwn) instead of “nations” (ἐθνῶν, eqnwn), which itself is supported by several mss (א¹ A 051 Ï). The ms evidence seems to be fairly balanced, though αἰώνων has somewhat better support. The replacement of “ages” with “nations” is possibly a scribal attempt to harmonize this verse with the use of “nations” in the following verse. On the other hand, the idea of “nations” fits well with v. 4 and it may be that “ages” is a scribal attempt to assimilate this text to 1 Tim 1:17: “the king of the ages” (βασιλεὺς τῶν αἰώνων, basileu" twn aiwnwn). The decision is a difficult one since both scenarios deal well with the evidence, though the verbal parallel with 1 Tim 1:17 is exact while the parallel with v. 4 is not. The term “king” occurs 17 other times (most occurrences refer to earthly kings) in Revelation and it is not used with either “ages” or “nations” apart from this verse. Probably the reading “nations” should be considered original due to the influence of 1 Tim 1:17.

¹³ sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the lives of his people in fresh and exciting ways.

¹⁴ tn Heb “play skillfully with a loud shout.”

¹⁵ sn A new song was appropriate because the Lord had intervened in the psalmist’s experience in a fresh and exciting way.

¹⁶ tn Heb “and he placed in my mouth a new song, praise to our God.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “may many see and fear and trust in the Lord.” The translation assumes that the initial prefixed verbal form is a jussive (“may many see”), rather than an imperfect (“many will see”). The following prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) conjunctive are taken as indicating purpose or result (“so that they might swear allegiance…and trust”) after the introductory jussive.

¹⁸ sn Psalm 96. The psalmist summons everyone to praise the Lord, the sovereign creator of the world who preserves and promotes justice in the earth.

¹⁹ sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See also Pss 33:3; 40:3; 98:1.

²⁰ sn Psalm 98. The psalmist summons the whole earth to praise God because he reveals his justice and delivers Israel.

²¹ sn A new song is appropriate because the Lord is constantly intervening in the world as its just king. See Ps 96:1.

²² tn The perfect verbal forms in vv. 1-3 are understood here as describing characteristic divine activities. Another option is to translate them as present perfects, “has performed…has accomplished deliverance, etc.” referring to completed actions that have continuing results.

²³ tn Heb “his right hand delivers for him and his holy arm.” The right hand and arm symbolize his power as a warrior-king (see Isa 52:10). His arm is “holy” in the sense that it is in a category of its own; God’s power is incomparable.

²⁴ sn Psalm 149. The psalmist calls upon God’s people to praise him because he is just and avenges them.

²⁵ tn Heb “his praise in the assembly of the godly ones.”

²⁶ tn Heb “his praise.” The phrase stands parallel to “new song” in the previous line.

²⁷ tn Heb “and its fullness”; NASB, NIV “and all that is in it.”

²⁸ tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “distant coastlands.”