11:19 Then 3 the temple of God in heaven was opened and the ark of his covenant was visible within his temple. And there were flashes of lightning, roaring, 4 crashes of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm. 5
16:17 Finally 6 the seventh angel 7 poured out his bowl into the air and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying: “It is done!” 16:18 Then 8 there were flashes of lightning, roaring, 9 and crashes of thunder, and there was a tremendous earthquake – an earthquake unequaled since humanity 10 has been on the earth, so tremendous was that earthquake.
19:16 On 11 the third day in the morning there was thunder and lightning and a dense 12 cloud on the mountain, and the sound of a very loud 13 horn; 14 all the people who were in the camp trembled.
20:18 All the people were seeing 15 the thundering and the lightning, and heard 16 the sound of the horn, and saw 17 the mountain smoking – and when 18 the people saw it they trembled with fear 19 and kept their distance. 20
18:13 The Lord thundered 21 in 22 the sky;
the sovereign One 23 shouted. 24
18:14 He shot his 25 arrows and scattered them, 26
many lightning bolts 27 and routed them. 28
68:35 You are awe-inspiring, O God, as you emerge from your holy temple! 29
It is the God of Israel 30 who gives the people power and strength.
God deserves praise! 31
3:16 The Lord roars from Zion;
from Jerusalem 32 his voice bellows out. 33
The heavens 34 and the earth shake.
But the Lord is a refuge for his people;
he is a stronghold for the citizens 35 of Israel.
12:25 Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven? 12:26 Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.” 45 12:27 Now this phrase “once more” indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain. 12:28 So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe. 12:29 For our God is indeed a devouring fire. 46
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
2 tn Or “sounds,” “voices.” It is not entirely clear what this refers to. BDAG 1071 s.v. φωνή 1 states, “In Rv we have ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί (cp. Ex 19:16) 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18 (are certain other sounds in nature thought of here in addition to thunder, as e.g. the roar of the storm?…).”
3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence on events within the vision.
4 tn Or “sounds,” “voices.” It is not entirely clear what this refers to. BDAG 1071 s.v. φωνή 1 states, “In Rv we have ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί (cp. Ex 19:16) 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18 (are certain other sounds in nature thought of here in addition to thunder, as e.g. the roar of the storm?…).”
5 tn Although BDAG 1075 s.v. χάλαζα gives the meaning “hail” here, it is not clear whether the adjective μεγάλη (megalh) refers to the intensity of the storm or the size of the individual hailstones, or both.
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “finally” to indicate the conclusion of the seven bowl judgments.
7 tn Grk “the seventh”; the referent (the seventh angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
9 tn Or “sounds,” “voices.” It is not entirely clear what this refers to. BDAG 1071 s.v. φωνή 1 states, “In Rv we have ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρονταί (cp. Ex 19:16) 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18 (are certain other sounds in nature thought of here in addition to thunder, as e.g. the roar of the storm?…).”
10 tn The singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used generically here to refer to the human race.
11 tn Heb “and it was on.”
12 tn Heb “heavy” (כָּבֵד, kaved).
13 tn Literally “strong” (חָזָק, khazaq).
14 tn The word here is שֹׁפָר (shofar), the normal word for “horn.” This word is used especially to announce something important in a public event (see 1 Kgs 1:34; 2 Sam 6:15). The previous word used in the context (v. 16) was יֹבֵל (yovel, “ram’s horn”).
15 tn The participle is used here for durative action in the past time (GKC 359 §116.o).
16 tn The verb “to see” (רָאָה, ra’ah) refers to seeing with all the senses, or perceiving. W. C. Kaiser suggests that this is an example of the figure of speech called zeugma because the verb “saw” yokes together two objects, one that suits the verb and the other that does not. So, the verb “heard” is inserted here to clarify (“Exodus,” EBC 2:427).
17 tn The verb “saw” is supplied here because it is expected in English (see the previous note on “heard”).
18 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated as a temporal clause to the following clause, which receives the prominence.
19 tn The meaning of נוּעַ (nua’) is “to shake, sway to and fro” in fear. Compare Isa 7:2 – “and his heart shook…as the trees of the forest shake with the wind.”
20 tn Heb “and they stood from/at a distance.”
21 sn Thunder is a common motif in OT theophanies and in ancient Near Eastern portrayals of the storm god and warring kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 179-83.
22 tn 2 Sam 22:14 has “from.”
23 tn Heb “the Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.
24 tc The text of Ps 18:13 adds at this point, “hail and coals of fire.” These words are probably accidentally added from v. 12b; they do not appear in 2 Sam 22:14.
25 tn 2 Sam 22:15 omits the pronominal suffix (“his”).
26 tn The pronominal suffixes on the verbs “scattered” and “routed” (see the next line) refer to the psalmist’s enemies. Some argue that the suffixes refer to the arrows, in which case one might translate “shot them far and wide” and “made them move noisily,” respectively. They argue that the enemies have not been mentioned since v. 4 and are not again mentioned until v. 17. However, usage of the verbs פוּץ (puts, “scatter”) and הָמַם (hamam, “rout”) elsewhere in Holy War accounts suggests the suffixes refer to enemies. Enemies are frequently pictured in such texts as scattered and/or routed (see Exod 14:24; 23:27; Num 10:35; Josh 10:10; Judg 4:15; 1 Sam 7:10; 11:11; Ps 68:1).
27 sn Lightning is a common motif in in OT theophanies and in ancient Near Eastern portrayals of the storm god and warring kings. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 190-92.
28 tn Heb “lightning bolts, many.” 2 Sam 22:15 has simply “lightning” (בָּרָק, baraq). The identity of the word רָב (rav) in Ps 18:14 is problematic. (1) It may be a form of a rare verb רָבַב (ravav, “to shoot”), perhaps attested in Gen 49:23 as well. In this case one might translate, “he shot lightning bolts and routed them.” Other options include (2) understanding רָב (rav) as an adverbial use of the adjective, “lightning bolts in abundance,” or (3) emending the form to רַבּוּ (rabbu), from רָבַב (ravav, “be many”) or to רָבוּ (ravu), from רָבָה (ravah, “be many”) – both a haplography of the vav (ו); note the initial vav on the immediately following form – and translating “lightning bolts were in abundance.”
29 tn Heb “awesome [is] God from his holy places.” The plural of מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “holy places”) perhaps refers to the temple precincts (see Ps 73:17; Jer 51:51).
30 tn Heb “the God of Israel, he.”
31 tn Heb “blessed [be] God.”
32 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
33 tn Heb “he sounds forth his voice.”
34 tn Or “the sky.” See the note on “sky” in 2:30.
35 tn Heb “sons.”
36 tn This describes the nation of Israel approaching God on Mt. Sinai (Exod 19). There is a clear contrast with the reference to Mount Zion in v. 22, so this could be translated “a mountain that can be touched.” But the word “mountain” does not occur here and the more vague description seems to be deliberate.
37 tn Grk “a voice of words.”
38 tn Grk “a voice…from which those who heard begged that a word not be added to them.”
39 sn A quotation from Exod 19:12-13.
40 tn Grk “that which appeared.”
41 tn Grk “I am terrified and trembling.”
42 tn Grk “and the city”; the conjunction is omitted in translation since it seems to be functioning epexegetically – that is, explaining further what is meant by “Mount Zion.”
43 tn The Greek word μεσίτης (mesith", “mediator”) in this context does not imply that Jesus was a mediator in the contemporary sense of the word, i.e., he worked for compromise between opposing parties. Here the term describes his function as the one who was used by God to enact a new covenant which established a new relationship between God and his people, but entirely on God’s terms.
44 sn Abel’s shed blood cried out to the Lord for justice and judgment, but Jesus’ blood speaks of redemption and forgiveness, something better than Abel’s does (Gen 4:10; Heb 9:11-14; 11:4).
45 sn A quotation from Hag 2:6.
46 sn A quotation from Deut 4:24; 9:3.