Deuteronomy 33:2-4

33:2 He said:

A Historical Review

The Lord came from Sinai

and revealed himself ¹  to Israel ²  from Seir.

He appeared in splendor ³  from Mount Paran,

and came forth with ten thousand holy ones. ⁴ 

With his right hand he gave a fiery law ⁵  to them.

33:3 Surely he loves the people; ⁶ 

all your holy ones ⁷  are in your power. ⁸ 

And they sit ⁹  at your feet,

each receiving ¹⁰  your words.

33:4 Moses delivered to us a law, ¹¹ 

an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.

Isaiah 61:6

61:6 You will be called, ‘the Lord’s priests,

servants of our God.’ ¹² 

You will enjoy ¹³  the wealth of nations

and boast about ¹⁴  the riches you receive from them. ¹⁵ 

Romans 12:1

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ¹⁶  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ¹⁷  – which is your reasonable service.

Romans 12:1

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ¹⁸  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ¹⁹  – which is your reasonable service.

Romans 2:5

2:5 But because of your stubbornness ²⁰  and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! ²¹ 

Romans 2:9

2:9 There will be ²²  affliction and distress on everyone ²³  who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek, ²⁴ 

Revelation 1:6

1:6 and has appointed ²⁵  us as a kingdom, ²⁶  as priests ²⁷  serving his God and Father – to him be the glory and the power for ever and ever! ²⁸  Amen.

Revelation 5:10

5:10 You have appointed ²⁹  them ³⁰  as a kingdom and priests ³¹  to serve ³²  our God, and they will reign ³³  on the earth.”

Revelation 20:6

20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who takes part ³⁴  in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, ³⁵  but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

[33:2]  ¹ tn Or “rose like the sun” (NCV, TEV).

[33:2]  ² tc Heb “to him.” The LXX reads “to us” (לָנוּ [lanu] for לָמוֹ [lamo]), the reading of the MT is acceptable since it no doubt has in mind Israel as a collective singular.

[33:2]  ³ tn Or “he shone forth” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[33:2]  ⁴ tc With slight alteration (מִמְרִבַת קָדֵשׁ [mimrivat qadesh] for the MT’s מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ [merivvot qodesh]) the translation would be “from Meribah Kadesh” (cf. NAB, NLT; see Deut 32:51). However, the language of holy war in the immediate context favors the reading of the MT, which views the Lord as accompanied by angelic hosts.

[33:2]  ⁵ tc The mispointed Hebrew term אֵשְׁדָּת (’eshdat) should perhaps be construed as אֵשְׁהַת (’eshhat) with Smr.

[33:3]  ⁶ tc Heb “peoples.” The apparent plural form is probably a misunderstood singular (perhaps with a pronominal suffix) with enclitic mem (ם). See HALOT 838 s.v. עַם B.2.

[33:3]  ⁷ tc Heb “his holy ones.” The third person masculine singular suffix of the Hebrew MT is problematic in light of the second person masculine singular suffix on בְּיָדֶךָ (bÿyadekha, “your hands”). The LXX versions by Lucian and Origen read, therefore, “the holy ones.” The LXX version by Theodotion and the Vulgate, however, presuppose third masculine singular suffix on בְּיָדָיו (bÿyadayv, “his hands”), and thus retain “his holy ones.” The efforts to bring pronominal harmony into the line is commendable but unnecessary given the Hebrew tendency to be untroubled by such grammatical inconsistencies. However, the translation harmonizes the first pronoun with the second so that the referent (the Lord) is clear.

[33:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “hands.” For the problem of the pronoun see note on the term “holy ones” earlier in this verse.

[33:3]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term תֻּכּוּ (tuku, probably Pual perfect of תָּכָה, takhah) is otherwise unknown. The present translation is based on the reference to feet and, apparently, receiving instruction in God’s words (cf. KJV, ASV). Other options are as follows: NIV “At your feet they all bow down” (cf. NCV, CEV); NLT “They follow in your steps” (cf. NAB, NASB); NRSV “they marched at your heels.”

[33:3]  ¹⁰ tn The singular verbal form in the Hebrew text (lit. “he lifts up”) is understood in a distributive manner, focusing on the action of each individual within the group.

[33:4]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term תּוֹרָה (torah) here should be understood more broadly as instruction.

[61:6]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text adds, “it will be said concerning you.”

[61:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “eat” (KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “feed on”; NLT “be fed with.”

[61:6]  ¹⁴ tc The form in the Hebrew text is probably a corruption of יִתְאַמְּרוּ (yit’ammÿru), a Hitpael from אָמַר (’amar), meaning “boast about” (see HALOT 67 s.v. II אמר, HALOT 416 s.v. ימר, and BDB 56 s.v. אָמַר).

[61:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “their glory” (i.e., riches).

[12:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[12:1]  ¹⁷ tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

[12:1]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[12:1]  ¹⁹ tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

[2:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.

[2:5]  ²¹ tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

[2:9]  ²² tn No verb is expressed in this verse, but the verb “to be” is implied by the Greek construction. Literally “suffering and distress on everyone…”

[2:9]  ²³ tn Grk “every soul of man.”

[2:9]  ²⁴ sn Paul uses the term Greek here and in v. 10 to refer to non-Jews, i.e., Gentiles.

[1:6]  ²⁵ tn The verb ποιέω (poiew) can indicate appointment or assignment rather than simply “make” or “do.” See Mark 3:14 (L&N 37.106).

[1:6]  ²⁶ tn See BDAG 168 s.v. βασιλεία 1.a for the idea of “he made us a kingdom,” which was translated as “he appointed us (to be or function) as a kingdom” (see the note on the word “appointed” earlier in the verse).

[1:6]  ²⁷ tn Grk “a kingdom, priests.” The term ἱερεῖς (Jiereis) is either in apposition to βασιλείαν (basileian) or as a second complement to the object “us” (ἡμᾶς, Jhmas). The translation retains this ambiguity.

[1:6]  ²⁸ tc Both the longer reading τῶν αἰώνων (twn aiwnwn, “to the ages of the ages” or, more idiomatically, “for ever and ever”; found in א C Ï) and the shorter (“for ever”; found in ̹⁸ A P 2050 pc bo) have good ms support. The author uses the longer expression (εἰς [τοὺς] αἰῶνας [τῶν] αἰώνων, ei" [tou"] aiwna" [twn] aiwnwn) in every other instance of αἰών in Revelation, twelve passages in all (1:18; 4:9, 10; 5:13; 7:12; 10:6; 11:15; 14:11; 15:7; 19:3; 20:10; 22:5). Thus, on the one hand, the style of the author is consistent, while on the other hand, the scribes may have been familiar with such a stylistic feature, causing them to add the words here. The issues are more complex than can be presented here; the longer reading, however, is probably original (the shorter reading arising from accidental omission of the genitive phrase due to similarity with the preceding words).

[5:10]  ²⁹ tn The verb ἐποίησας (epoihsas) is understood to mean “appointed” here. For an example of this use, see Mark 3:14.

[5:10]  ³⁰ tc The vast majority of witnesses have αὐτούς (autous, “them”) here, while the Textus Receptus reads ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”) with insignificant support (pc gig vg^cl sa Prim Bea). There is no question that the original text read αὐτούς here.

[5:10]  ³¹ tn The reference to “kingdom and priests” may be a hendiadys: “priestly kingdom.”

[5:10]  ³² tn The words “to serve” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the word “priests.”

[5:10]  ³³ tc The textual problem here between the present tense βασιλεύουσιν (basileuousin, “they are reigning”; so A 1006 1611 Ï^K pc) and the future βασιλεύσουσιν (basileusousin, “they will reign”; so א 1854 2053 Ï^A 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.

[20:6]  ³⁴ tn Grk “who has a share.”

[20:6]  ³⁵ tn The shift from the singular pronoun (“the one”) to the plural (“them”) in the passage reflects the Greek text: The singular participle ὁ ἔχων (Jo ecwn) is followed by the plural pronoun τούτων (toutwn). In the interests of English style, this is obscured in most modern translations except the NASB.